Tucked away in the idyllic hills south of Florence, the Rosatis, an Italian family of noble lineage, believe that the walls of their ancient villa will keep them safe from the war raging across Europe. But when two soldiers, a German and an Italian, arrive asking to see an ancient Etruscan burial site, the Rosatis bucolic tranquility is shattered. A young German lieutenant begins to court eighteen-year-old Cristina, the Nazis descend upon the estate demanding hospitality, and what was once their sanctuary becomes their prison. Years later, beautiful Serafina Bettini, an investigator with the Florence police department, carefully hides her scars along with her haunting memories of the war. But when she is assigned to a gruesome new case-a serial killer targeting the Rosatis-Serafina finds herself digging into a past that involves both the victims and her own tragic history.