The Maine air was bitter cold and frigid as Dr. Miranda Jones returned to the family home after a busy lecture tour. But her blood turned to ice when, out of nowhere, she felt a knife held against her throat. The unseen assailant stole her bags, slashed her tires . . . and disappeared. Shaken and bruised, Miranda was nonetheless determined to put the assault quickly out of her mind. Then comes a welcome distraction: a summons to Italy to verify the authenticity of a valuable Renaissance bronze of a Medici courtesan known as "The Dark Lady." But it soon becomes frighteningly clear that the incident that day in Maine was not a simple mugging, and that "The Dark Lady" may possess as many secrets as its beautiful namesake once did. For Miranda, forced to rely on herself—and an enigmatic partner who offers her suspicion and an intoxicating passion—the only way home is filled with treachery, deception, and a danger that threatens them all.