One of Montalbano's most difficult cases begins during one of his habitual morning swims, when he finds a decomposed body floating in the water.

When a man is found murdered with a sawn-off shotgun, Vigata police are called upon to extinguish what appears to be the beginnings of a new Mafia war. But Montalbano has his doubts on the exact nature of this particular murder.

Inspector Montalbano is puzzled by the kidnapping of Susanna Mistretta, a young woman whose once-wealthy family has fallen on hard times. When the kidnappers contact the family to demand a ransom, the responsibility of coming up with the money falls on an estranged relative.

The death of local construction magnate Girolamo Cascio leads Montalbano back to the murder of Cascio's leading competitor, Giacomo Aletto, who was shot and killed two decades earlier. Rocco Pennisi, Aletto's partner, was sent to prison for the crime. But was the right man convicted

Inspector Montalbano discovers the existence of a secret underground dwelling beneath Mimi's family home and finds a trunk containing the dead body of a young woman who had disappeared six years earlier.

The naked body of a young woman is discovered on a beach near Vigata. The girl was shot in the face, her identity is unknown and the only clue police have to go on is a butterfly tattoo on her shoulder.

Montalbano wakes up one morning to find the carcass of a dead horse stranded on the beach below his house. Soon after, a beautiful woman walks into Vigata police station to report the abduction of her racehorse.

A distressed woman arrives at Vigata police station to report the disappearance of her brother. Soon enough, the man is found murdered in what appears to have been a crime of passion.

The yacht of a wealthy woman docks at Vigata's harbour as a disfigured body is discovered at sea. Coastguard Laura Belladonna is assigned to the case to assist Montalbano and the two soon become close.

Fazio is missing. He's not at home, his mobile is switched off and his father is worried. Believing that the young officer had been working a secret investigation on his own, Montalbano fears that Fazio may be in serious trouble and a frantic search is mounted in an effort to find him alive.

As torrential rain pours down on Vigata, a plastic bag containing a body cut into pieces is found in a clay field. All the signs point to an old-fashioned Mafia killing. But why is Montalbano's trusted colleague and friend Mimi' Augello suddenly irritable and short-tempered, and why is he insisting that the investigation be assigned to him?

An elderly couple, both religious fanatics, barricade themselves in their home and begin shooting from the windows for no apparent reason, until Montalbano's men finally succeed in disarming them.