When an old man makes a bequest to investigate the mysterious death of his son, English detective Daniel Leicester follows a trail leading to one of Bologna's wealthiest families - makers of some of the world's most coveted supercars. He soon discovers that beneath the glitz and glamour of the Formula One circuit lurk certain people, with sinister interests, who may just be prepared to kill to keep their secrets. Time and tide wait for no man - or woman - and while biology obliges one of Faidate Investigations' team to finally undergo a long-delayed operation, history catches up with another.

Shadowing a suspect along one of Bologna's blood-red porticoes or mixing with the glitterati in the paddock at Imola, the English detective comes to learn in Italy the past not only has a long tail, but its sting can be deadly