Carlo Fruttero

The month, November. Glittering worldliness and dubious shabbiness overlap, passion and suspicion intertwine in a three-day Venetian adventure, bookended by the arrival of a plane and the departure of a ship. It begins with a troubling encounter on a flight to Venice. She is an elegant Roman signora on the search for undervalued paintings, and he a mysterious tour guide....

Runaway Horses is set in Siena, one of Italy's most beautiful cities, frequented by all discerning travellers to Tuscany. The city is feverishly preparing for the Palio, a horse race dating back to the Middle Ages, held every summer in the centre of the town. Milanese lawyer Enzo Maggione and his wife Valeria find themselves unwittingly caught up in the...