The Wizard of Narouz, AKA Giuseppe Capomagli, is found dead in his apartment in Trastevere in Rome. The man sold love potions, winning numbers, and advice of all kinds to a select and loyal clientele of entertainment personalities and political figures. Heading the investigation, Manrico Spinori senses he’s getting nowhere and, at times, is even being manipulated. Then, just when the case seems to be slipping through his fingers, an unexpected tip allows him to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

In 2002, Giancarlo De Cataldo published Romanzo criminale, winner of the 2023 Scerbanenco Award, turned into a film directed by Michele Placido and then a Sky TV series directed by Stefano Sollima. In 2007, the Scerbanenco Jury deemed Romanzo criminale the best novel ever honored with the fifteen-year-old award. In 2010, De Cataldo and Mario Martone co-wrote the film We Believed, which screened in competition at Venice and earned them a David di Donatello award. In 2013, he co-wrote the novel Suburra with Carlo Bonini. Just like Romanzo criminale, Suburra also became a film directed by Stefano Sollima and then a TV series (Netflix). De Cataldo’s TV projects include overseeing the 2006-2010 Rai series Crimini, with stories by Italy’s greatest mystery writers. In 2018, he made his directorial debut with the documentary Pertini: il combattente, co-directed with Graziano Diana. In 2020, De Cataldo introduced the Roman prosecutor Manrico Spinori, protagonist of his novels Io sono il castigo (2020), Un cuore sleale (2020), Il suo freddo pianto (2021), and Colpo di ritorno (2023).