"The Track of Sand" is the twelfth book in the ironically humorous series featuring Inspector Montalbano by Andrea Camilleri. Inspector Montalbano wakes up one day to find the carcass of a horse on the beach in front of his seaside house. However, before his men can arrive, the body mysteriously disappears, leaving only a track in the sand. Soon, Rachel, a charming equestrian champion, shows up at the police station to report the theft of her horse. The horse was stabled at a specific location belonging to the wealthy Saverio Lo Duca, one of the richest men in Sicily. Lo Duca has also lost one of his own horses. Montalbano, with his curiosity piqued, begins the investigation, but things soon take a more troubling turn... Whom has Montalbano disappointed in this strange, unfamiliar world of horse racing? And what is the Mafia's involvement in all this? "The Track of Sand" is followed by the thirteenth novel in the series, "The Potter's Field".