New York, present day: In the wake of her brother’s untimely death, Beatrice is surprised to learn that she has inherited not only his historic house in picturesque Siena but also his research into the secret history of this Tuscan city he once called home. In his notes she stumbles upon the journal of a 14th century fresco artist, in whose paintings she discovers the impossible image of her own face. The mystery he left behind draws her from the safety of her century to a Siena on the eve of The Plague’s arrival.
Italy, 1347: Gabriele Accorsi dreams again of a lady in green, the inspiration for his latest commission, a fresco on the Ospedale. But when Beatrice crosses his path in waking life, his muse becomes just as real as the sinister conspiracy that unfolds around them.
With The Plague about to claim its victims, Siena and Florence struggle for power in a war that takes a dangerous, personal turn. Caught in the treachery and the beauty of the two most formidable cities in Italy, Beatrice and Gabriele will be torn between their allegiance to state, to country, and even to century.
GPL: F Winawer