The Darkest Sin

Florence, spring 1537. Cesare Aldo is sent to investigate intruders at a convent in the city’s northern quarter, entering an enclosed community divided by status, rivalry and long-held grievances. When a man is found stabbed to death deep inside the convent, the evidence suggests that someone within the supposedly protected house admitted him and may also have killed him.

Elsewhere, Constable Carlo Strocchi investigates human remains recovered from the River Arno and identifies the victim as an officer of the criminal court who vanished during the winter. His enquiries expose resentments inside the institution Aldo serves. As the two cases develop, convent secrets and official loyalties become increasingly difficult to separate, forcing Aldo and Strocchi to decide whom they can trust before the investigations make them targets.