Quest for historic treasure proves dangerous for two colleagues. The Mafia is the last thing on her mind when Professor Clara Cartwright comes to Sicily to research the Normans. Disturbing events ensue on her arrival: she discovers that someone has read her e-mail and eventually suspects that she is being followed. During earlier correspondence with Sicilian archivist, Gaetano Perillo, Clara expressed knowledge of a lost royal artifact, a bejeweled canopy. In the course of their sojourn around Sicily, the colleagues fall in love, but events arouse Clara's suspicion regarding Gaetano's motives.