1574. Edward Hunter is eager to join his friend Philip Sidney in Padua and to sample the delights of Venice. However, he arrives to find Sidney kidnapped for mysterious reasons, and the kidnappers killed for reasons equally mysterious. While Hunter investigates the possible motives of Catholic expatriates, further attacks prove he is also a target of this unknown enemy. When the French King visits Venice and would-be assassins are found with his pistols in their hands, Sidney is arrested. Hunter has only hours to discover who is behind this plot, prove Sidney's innocence, and avoid arrest and execution by Venetian authorities.