Montalbano wakes up from a nightmare: he dreamt of his funeral, and his bad mood gets worse as the stormy weather floods Vigàta. On his way to the police station, he runs into Vanna Digiulio, a girl just arrived from Palermo to meet her aunt, Livia Giovannini, who’s reaching Vigàta’s harbour on her yacht. As soon as Vanna’s aunt lands in Vigàta later than expected due to the discovery of a corpse at sea, Vanna disappears. Since Livia gets surprised as Montalbano asks after her niece, he starts doubting about the truth of the girl’s real identity.
