It is the 100th anniversary of St. Patrick?s College and Professor Lizzie Manning is tasked with creating a centennial exhibition to celebrate the occasion. Her research takes her to Bologna, where the daughter of the college?s founder married an Italian prince with a family collection dating back to the Renaissance. Among the oddities and works of art Lizzie finds ancient alligators, old master paintings, unicorn tusks, and rarities from around the globe. The mummified occupant of a sarcophagus draws her into an unexpected mystery that reaches from ancient Egypt to German-occupied Italy in World War II.