Montalbano is deputy commissioner in a remote village in the Sicilian mountains. A local thug with a history of theft is murdered and the evidence points to an elderly shepherd as the killer. In the meantime Montalbano receives a promotion, and reassignment to the seaside town of Vigata, the town in which he grew up. With the help of veteran detective Carmine Fazio, and officer Catarella, he solves the case, and also unravels the mystery of why a girl attempted to murder a judge.
