The Thief of Venice

The seductive city of Venice has lured Homer Kelly to a rare books conference, and wife Mary has eagerly come along, camera in tow. Upon arrival they find their Venetian host, Sam Bell, reveling in an examination of holy relics entrusted to him by the new Procurator of Saint Mark's, Lucia Costanza. Sam is convinced they are fraudulent. (He may be surprised.). But soon the Kellys' tranquil getaway turns into a life-and-death adventure, when Lucia's soon-to-be ex-husband is killed and Lucia disappears, branding herself the prime suspect. Bucolic Venice begins to look more and more sinister as Sam's borrowed relics disappear one by one and his motherless little daughter, Ursula, begins to behave in a most unusual way. The plot thickens with the help of Mary's simple snapshots of jade-green canals, the Rialto Bridge, the Piazza San Marco, the ancient Ghetto, and churches, palaces, and squares in every remote corner of the city. Before long she is in danger, pursued across a maze of ancient bridges while the lagoon overflows and floods the streets. In the end there is a miracle - could it possibly be real? - and a treasure is uncovered, painfully recalling the fate of Venetian Jews in World War II.