A murder with the young manager of the Regionale Bank branch in Vigata as the victim. Eyewitnesses are his three close friends. The case seems obvious. However, against the evidence, and against everyone, Montalbano concludes that nothing is what it seems.

He investigates carefully. He follows difficult, obstacle-filled mental paths. He analyzes and links events. He broadens the investigation. He encounters quirky characters (a worm-like man and a very fat woman capable of crushing him in her massive curves). He stumbles upon a second crime. The investigation takes an unpredictable turn. Montalbano feels intense loneliness once again. Livia is far away, very far away...

"The way Montalbano leaves active service came to me as an idea in my eighties, and thus I found myself writing this book, which constitutes the last chapter, the last book of the series. I sent it to my publisher telling him to put it in the drawer and publish it after my death."

Andrea Camilleri