Under the guise of "Beto, " seventeen-year-old Isabetta Bastian runs her father's successful shipping business. Her older brother sails their commercial galley between Venice and Lisbon, exporting luxury textiles and importing exotic spices obtained by the Portuguese. A heinous crime shatters her ideal life, and a risky attempt to save the family business ends in failure. Now, she is forced to live with the harsh consequences. Resentment brews until she finally seeks the advice of her sophisticated neighbor, Veronica Franco. With the savvy courtesan's help, Isabetta devises a scheme to avenge her loved ones but will her fall from grace be worth a brilliant vendetta? Set amid sumptuous palazzos and lurking decay, this Renaissance mystery exposes the dark side of humanity.