Everything that can go wrong will go wrong.

That just about sums up talented mathematician Faith Murphy's life. After a disastrous one-night stand with hockey heartthrob Nick Rossi, she flees to a conference in Siena, Italy. She expected her Boss from Hell, Roland Kane, to be unbearable. She wasn't expecting him to be dead.

A head injury has destroyed Nick Rossi's hockey career. Maybe if he hadn't been devastated and drunk, he wouldn't have seduced Faith Murphy. By the time he realizes she might be the woman of his dreams, she's run off to Siena. It's Palio season in Siena. The Palio, a no-holds-barred medieval horse race, has the whole city in a lather. Nick knows Siena like the back of his hand. He knows he can get Faith back if he follows her to Siena. But there's the little matter of suspicion of murder in the way.

Cops don't have time for murder in Siena during Palio season. Police Commissario Dante Rossi finds it hard to focus on murder when there's a horse race to be won. But when his cousin Nick shows up in pursuit of a pretty American who's the prime suspect, all bets are off.