A picture of Anne de Bretagne is stolen from the château d'Amboise and there's a body in the garden. A rather surprising theft, as the picture appears to be worth little. The first ever case for Antoine Verlay and art history specialist Florence Chassagne.
Under the stolen portrait of Anne de Bretagne was a forgotten painting by Leonardo da Vinci. This is the theory emerging from Florence's research. More down-to-earth and less attuned to the artistic side of the investigation, Antoine focuses on the murder in the garden.
Was the victim leading a double life? Perhaps, but why lay out the body in front of one of the Louvre's best-known paintings? While Florence and Antoine employ very different methods, an important clue is found in the museum's corridors.
An art historian collapses in front of Théodore Géricault's "Le Radeau de la Méduse" and dies before help arrives, staring at the painting. Florence sees a clear link between the victim and the painting, which represents death and agony.