This is a mystery story where a bumbling detective is hired to find the killer(s) of two people, husband and wife, floating face down in the Tiber river. One of the slain is an infamous state senator from Chicago. The detective is as "blind as a bat," wears coke thick glasses and appears to be clueless, but he has never failed.
He is hired by a travel agent with a small exclusive group in Rome. Randolph Guggenheim joins the group on an art and culture tour of Italy and Paris. He interrogates the 14 remaining tour participants.
Before he stumbles into solving the case, it becomes an international case with either the Mafia of Chicago or Sicily being suspected of assassinating the senator. His wife is collateral damage. Randolph is told to "stand down" as this is now an international matter. His nature will not let him do this and he refuses to fail.
Besides the mystery and the humor, the novel takes the reader through the art and culture of Rome, Assisi, Florence, Milan, and Paris.