A surprising discovery in the pictorial heritage of a well known Swiss businessman is where this exciting historical novel begins. An anonymous painting dating back to 1441 is an exceptional piece that shatters many artists' hypotheses about the artistic evolution leading into the Renaissance. Drop into early 15th-century Tuscany, where a teenage peasant astonishes everyone with his masterpieces--drawings solely outlined in chalk. Paolo Maseto promptly decides that he will dedicate his life to improving that about which he is passionate. Interestingly, down this path he learns of another passion: the love for the daughter of one of his family's greatest enemies, the beautiful Isabeta.