Alex forfeited a long-overdue vacation in order to restore neglected paintings in a decaying castle in Venice. Her boss had first cajoled and finally bribed Alex, speaking of along-lost masterpiece that she might unearth if she agreed to the assignment.

Alex prepared to meet a stuffy old prince living in a run-down relic from Venice's illustrious past. But Castlenero was not a crumbling ruin. It was a breathtakingly opulent palace.

And Prince Anton de Cassis was neither stuffy nor old. He was the most magnificent masterpiece she'd ever seen!