Orlando Novi is 17 years old and living in Bologna, Italy, with his mother and grandmother, during the Italian Renaissance. His brother died and now so has his father. Orlando was told that his father's death was an accident but he believes that it was murder. His mother and grandmother think he is so overwrought by his father's death that he doesn't know what he is talking about.
Orlando suspects his father's employer, Cassini, who owns an armor business. He too, thinks Orlando is not thinking straight. He tells Orlando of the special project that his father was working on.
Orlando finds an address in his father's cloak and decides to investigate his findings. This starts an amazing journey for him.
You become so involved in Orlando's adventures that it's hard to put the book down. ( )