The body of a woman has been found half submerged in an ornamental fish pond in Florence's Boboli Gardens high above the Pitti Palace where Marshal Guarnaccia of the caribinieri is stationed. At first, the woman cannot be identified; only her skull remains. The investigators must use her clothing and a single handmade leather shoe to trace her. She turns out to be a Japanese woman apprenticed to one of Florence's legendary custom shoemakers, crotchety old Peruzzi. Could he have killed his protégé? Or did jealousy drive his other apprentice to murder? The neighbours have seen the pretty woman with a handsome man. Who was he? And did a lovers' quarrel lead to murder? Marshal Salvatore Guarnaccia, a Sicilian stationed in Florence, pursues his investigation in the city he now knows so well, questioning its citizens, whose characters and motivations he knows even better. It turns out that the Marshal must go to Rome to complete his investigation. When he returns to Florence he can identify the killer, but can he bring him to justice?