Constructed around the mafia trial of Giulio Andreotti in 1995, this narrative combines a history of the Cosa Nostra with travel writing, accounts of Italian life and Sicilian food. When Giulio Andreotti, seven times Italian Prime Minister, was put on trial on charges of mafia involvement and incitement to murder, the whole fabric of living, and dying, in Southern Italy was put into question. Slowly, the all-pervasive influence and power of the Cosa Nostra and their unchallenged bosses began to be uncovered. Peter Robb not only examines the role of the mafia in Italy; his account looks at the beauty of the country, its food in markets and restaurants, as well as portraits of the many people involved in the trial.