Young Hanno Dietz navigates life with his mother in post-war Hamburg, scraping by through stone breaking, scrap metal collection, and black market dealings. One day, while exploring the ruins, he discovers a deceased woman and a well-dressed three-year-old boy nearby who won't speak. With no relatives to be found, the mysterious child grows up with the Dietz family. Years later, the former rubble child stumbles upon a crime that connects disturbingly to his own family history.

His name is Venier, Davide Venier. Venice, 1570. A conspiracy strips Davide Venier, a respected merchant, of his fortune overnight, landing him in the notorious Piombi—the lead-roofed state prison of the Serenissima—for ten years. There he befriends the Ottoman Hasan, who becomes not only his chess companion but teaches him self-defense and survival skills. Davide proves an exceptional student, earning an unexpected proposition: freedom in exchange for espionage services to the Doge. He accepts, but his mission couldn't be more dangerous: The Ottoman Empire prepares for war against Venice, and a deadly assassin has arrived in the city.

Prague, 13th century: Ulrich von Kulm, royal procurator, has far more pressing matters than pilgrimaging to Santiago de Compostela. Yet the King insists he escort the venerable Abbess Agnes of Bohemia there. Originally, three knights were to lead the pilgrimage group, but each was murdered in succession. Even during the journey, the mysterious killing spree continues. This supposed pilgrimage clearly serves purposes beyond the religious. What does the abbess hope to find in Santiago? And why is one pilgrim willing to kill to prevent them from reaching their destination? The first case for Knight Ulrich von Kulm, who fights for justice everywhere, and his vivacious squire Otto, who prefers gathering information from pretty maidens.