Three years after his secret mission to Aquitaine, the poet and diplomat Geoffrey Chaucer finds himself once more embarked on royal business. After an arduous journey in the spring of 1373, he reaches Florence, a city twice the size of London and the banking center of Europe. Chaucer has come for money for Edward III, who needs a loan to prop up the ongoing English campaign against France. Arrangements have been made with the banking house run by Antonio Lipari. It should be a straightforward exchange, but Chaucer soon discovers that various people are opposed to the deal, including Lipari's blind brother and his ambitious secretary. Within days Antonio Lipari has died in suspicious circumstances. Violence is bubbling under the surface of this city of stone towers and golden vistas. Outside the walls is camped a band of English mercenaries while, inside, Chaucer himself is aware of shadowy pursuers. Following a trail of fish and the clues provided by a fallen statue, Chaucer must establish the truth about Lipari¹s death and others before he can return home to England. Meanwhile back in London, Chaucer's wife suspects a plot against her sister Katherine—one of the most powerful women in England.