Mauro Bruno receives a mysterious envelope containing a letter he wrote to his wife twenty-five years ago on the day she was murdered. The letter was stolen by the killer, who was never caught. The same day he receives the envelope, the desiccated body of a woman is discovered behind the wall in the president of Italy's office with his letter opener lying beside her. For over two decades, a Mafia chieftain has been grooming a government official, killing anyone standing in the way of his progression within the ranks of government. Now running for president, the chieftain's protégé is neck and neck with the current president, his victory assuring the Mafia will have a grip on the country for at least the next decade. These are the related events that confront BD&D investigations, which have been hired by Dante Acardi, the deputy commissioner of the Polizia di Stato, to find who this woman was and who killed her before the president's political opponent learns of it. Digging into the woman's background, Bruno discovers that she and his late wife had something in common, which ultimately led to their deaths. But finding her identity and murderer soon takes second place to staying alive.In this latest Bruno, Donati, and Donais novel, the three investigators find themselves pitted against the Mafia, the president's political rival, and an assassin who has never failed to deliver on a contract - all wanting them dead before they can unravel the mystery of the dead woman.