A restaurant owner in Italy is sent a package apparently containing his son's index finger plus a photo of him in front of graffiti art in Manchester and a warning: Silence and await instruction.

The distraught family finds solace when who should be taking a holiday in Italy than Hetty Wainthropp? After snooping at her passport and learning she's a detective, they come to her and she accepts their case.

As Hetty investigates, she discovers that Gianni may be involved in a bad loan connected to the mafia.