La San-Felice, Tome 09, Emma Lyonna, tome 5

In the hot summer of 1799 Naples, the public hanging of the dashing Admiral Caracciolo sends a wave of dread through the city. The spectacle, staged on the deck of the frigate Minerve, is witnessed by prisoners who glimpse their own fate reflected in the swinging rope. As the condemned body disappears into the sea, whispers of betrayal and hidden loyalties ripple through the crowded ports.

Amid the turmoil, Cardinal Ruffo, a man of both noble birth and sharp intellect, receives a puzzling dispatch delivered by a mysterious naval officer. The letter, sealed with the insignia of the Count of Thurn, hints at a secret pact and forces the cardinal to confront a web of political maneuvering that stretches from the royal courts to the very decks of warships. With his sight failing and the stakes rising, he must decide whom to trust before the next wave of danger crashes ashore.