When a body is found floating in a canal, strangely disfigured & with multiple stab wounds, Commissario Brunetti is called to investigate & is convinced he recognises the man from somewhere. However, with no identification except for the distinctive shoes the man was wearing, & no reports of people missing from the Venice area, the case cannot progress. Brunetti soon realises why he remembers the dead man, & asks Signorina Elettra if she can help him find footage of a farmers` protest the previous autumn. But what was his involvement with the protest, & what does it have to do with his murder? Acting on the fragile lead, Brunetti & Ispettore Vianello set out to uncover the man`s identity. Their investigation eventually takes them to a slaughterhouse on the mainl&, where they discover the origin of the crime, & the world of blackmail & corruption that surrounds it. Both a gripping case & a harrowing exploration of the dark side of Italy`s meat industry, Donna Leon`s latest novel is a compelling addition to the Brunetti series.