In the town of L'Aquila, an anxious wife reports that her husband, Professor Donato Pisano, has vanished without a trace. No commonplace event - since he happens to be the chief scientist at the Montenero physics laboratory high up in the Gran Sasso mountain range. Neutrinos which can travel faster than the speed of light? Impossible But could this revolutionary claim by the Professor be the key to his inexplicable disappearance? Beppe Stancato is called upon to investigate. He encounters a web of deceit and half-truths - from the very people who should be anxious to help him in his inquiry. Who are the two shadowy visitors from America whose appearance on the scene coincides with the professor's disappearance? What role does the elusive Giada Costa play in the mystery surrounding the missing physicist? Only Beppe's dogged determination to get to the truth keeps him on track. The breakthrough comes from an unexpected source - in the form of a smell. From that moment on, the pace quickens as time runs out before Professor Donato Pisano's fate is sealed.