Neither Commissario Brunetti nor his wife Paola have ever had much sympathy for the Italian armed forces so when a young cadet is found hanged at Venice's elite military academy Brunetti's emotions are complex: pity & sorrow at the death of a boy close in age to his own son & contempt & irritation for the arrogance & high-handedness of the boy's teachers & fellow students. The young man is the son of an ex-politician a man of an impeccable integrity all too rare in Italian politics. But as Brunetti
- & the indispensable Signorina Elettra
- investigate further no one seems willing to talk as the military protects its own & civilians keep their own counsel. Is this the natural reluctance of Italians to involve themselves with the authorities or is Brunetti facing a conspiracy of silence?