Weaving the intrigue of a romance with the haunting evocation of a legendary Mediterranean city, Dan Hofstadter reveals Naples to us. He is our guide to its decaying architectural beauty - the falling palace of his dreams; the conversations that start in the cafes and continue into the night; the countless curio shops where treasures mingle with kitsch. And he brings to life on the page his Neapolitan friends, people whose gestures and superstitions seem as old as Vesuvius: chief among them, Benedetta, the object of his fascination and affections, and, like her home city, at once inviting and unfathomable.