Art historian Miranda Jones is called to Italy to verify the authenticity of a Renaissance bronze of a Medici courtesan. However, instead of cementing Miranda's reputation as an authority in her field, her credibility is nearly destroyed when the bronze is declared a hoax. Desperate to restore her reputation and prove the bronze is really a previously unknown work by Michelangelo, Miranda turns to Ryan Boldari, a supposedly-reformed art thief.

Claudia and her brother run away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she sees a statue so beautiful, she must identify its sculptor. To find out, she must visit the statue's former owner, the elderly Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

Vashti believes that she cannot draw, but her art teacher's encouragement leads her to change her mind.

"When a slam-bang of a crime brings a beautiful new client into Stone Barrington's office, little does he know his association with her will pull him into a far more serpentine mystery in the exclusive world of art. It's a business where a rare find could make a career --and a collection --and mistakes in judgment are costly. And under its genteel and high-minded veneer lurks an assortment of grifters and malfeasants eager to cash in on the game....

"The true story of the world's most prolific art thief--a spellbinding portrait of obsession and flawed genius, from the bestselling author of The Stranger in the Woods. For centuries, works of art have been stolen in countless ways from all over the world, but no one has been quite as successful at it as the master thief Stéphane Breitwieser. Carrying out more than two hundred heists over nearly ten years--in museums and cathedrals all over Europe--Breitwieser,...

An account of how eight jewels shaped the course of history shares insights into the role of precious gemstones in triggering cultural movements, political dynasties, and wars, while exploring how jewels reflect darker aspects of human nature.