Migrant arrivals follow one after another almost nightly and Montalbano faces this emergency only with his staff, who work non-stop. He does it without ever losing his humanity and his sense of justice.

In the midst of all this, a terrible crime hits Vigata: Elena Biasini is brutally slaughtered in her tailor's shop. The murder seems inexplicable. But Montalbano will know how to grasp the thread of life of this mysterious and extraordinary woman and will discover the lacerating truth that lies behind her death.