Poirot has his little grey cells, Morse has his classical education, Patrice Lanier only has 'the things themselves'.

On secondment to Interpol's Art Investigation Unit, Patrice must solve an intriguing puzzle. A painting, found on a Finnish rubbish dump, may be by Artemisia Gentileschi, contemporary of Caravaggio, and friend of Galileo. With the help of art historian, Chloë Valéry, the Finnish Police, and a gaggle of Italian art experts, Patrice must establish the truth.

If the picture is genuinely by the Renaissance artist, it could be worth more than $5 million, if it's a forgery it must be destroyed by fire.

Will Patrice be responsible for the destruction of an extraordinary work of art, based only on an uncertain provenance … or will he discover it's an unknown masterpiece?