Before 11 priceless pieces of art were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, a respected Italian violin maker visited the museum to inspect a rare musical instrument requiring restoration. He took measurements and photographs and reported his findings to the museum's director.

Then, he disappeared.

Was the innocent invitation to the violin maker the first step in a complex plot to rob the Gardner? The museum director thinks so and hires Theo R. Perdoux, an expert in worldwide art thefts, to investigate.

Inspired by the actual unsolved robbery of Boston's Gardner Museum, Maness spins a plausible web that races ahead like a shot. The brisk pace and clever twists offer an intriguing explanation why masterpieces worth millions have never been found.