General Bottando of Rome’s Art Theft Squad believes that a lone criminal mastermind—dubbed “Giotto”—has been stealing priceless Renaissance art for over thirty years. But his theory—prompted by a letter from an embittered, dying old woman—is scorned by archrival Corrado Argan, a bureaucrat more interested in politics than policing.

Bottando’s right hand, the beautiful Flavia di Stefano, quickly locates a possible culprit—but he’s in England. Since the conniving Argan considers even a trip across town an unnecessary expense for Bottando’s squad, Flavia must rely on her fiancé, Jonathan Argyll. In England on business, he finds the suspect suspiciously dead. That’s a pity—especially for Jonathan. Were he not on the scene—raving about art thefts and coincidences—the police may have ruled that the deceased had a few too many and tripped on a loose stair. Now, Jonathan’s passport has been lifted until Her Majesty’s magistrate is satisfied that he has told all he knows…