Some chaotic incidents, beginning with an incident with a bath, a cannon and a canal, upset the good Burghers of Bruges. They also launch the career of a brilliant, dangerous man into the world of the Renaissance, where chivalry is on the wane and business is on the rise, and war is business. Despite his brilliance, he makes mistakes, or over-reaches, or simply sets in motion trains of events that have outcomes even he can't control or predict, for he is still young and inexperienced. If he survives his enemies, disasters, wars, tragedies and the machinations of Dukes and kings, he still has his family to worry about, because under all the plots and plans and clever designs there are deeper, ineradicable secrets. This is merely the edge, the launch and dive into the world of Niccolo. Questions you weren't aware were being posed in the first page will not be answered the end of seven whole epic novels, because though the writing can seem fine as filigree, it's also as sharp as razors and the plot is like a network of steel hawsers. Dive in, it's brilliant.