This title presents the new 'Gregory Crowne' mystery from this well-loved author. When the ex-Queen Nicoletta of Hirtenstein, Gregory's redoubtable grandmother, summons him to Rome where she is redecorating the villa of an Italian politician, Greg is powerless to refuse. A Russian icon, belonging to Signor Arditti's opera-singer wife Rini, has disappeared. It appears that the value of the icon lies in the diamond frame that Rini had made for it out of a necklace from her days of glory. Greg is initially reluctant to get involved, not least because of the Arditti family's refusal to involve the police. But when his long-time companion, Liz Blair, agrees to accompany him to Rome where she hopes to combine a little light sleuthing with some serious retail therapy, Greg is persuaded. It's not long, though, before he realises the goings-on at Villa Stefani are more complex and frightening than it first seemed.