The Secret of Villa Favoni - Maggie Morris Wyllie

'All men have enemies, but I had more than most.'

Simone da Benno, fresco painter and enfant terrible of the Medici Court.

The Year of Our Lord 1488.

After his latest misdemeanour, namely trying to steal his rival's prize student a talented lad called Michelangelo Buonarroti Simone da Benno is forced to flee Florence. Mistakenly thinking things cant get any worse he heads north with Tomma, his shrewd young apprentice, to offer his services to the rival city.

On their arrival they're given refuge in the home of a wealthy silk merchant. But things in the house are not as they seem, and it doesn't take long before they find themselves dragged back into the old, familiar, world of conspiracy and deceit.

What is the secret of Villa Favoni? Time is against them, as there are others who want to find out. It's their intimate knowledge of the criminal mind, and the courage of a young novice nun, that helps them uncover the terrible truth and save both themselves and the fortunes of Italy.