Aurelio Zen is a formidable detective, but he's always put honesty before advancement. The arrival of clever and ambitious Tania to the team sees Zen's vigor reawakened. Driven by romance, re-energized and armed with a new confidence, Zen's investigations take him from crowded Rome to the spectacular Italian countryside, as he negotiates a complex string of murder cases, never afraid to question authority or use a few unorthodox methods to see justice done. Rufus Sewell brings passion, intrigue and humor to author Michael Dibdin's character in a series set against a visually rich backdrop of Rome at its most stunning: lively, busy, noisy, colorful at the one end, crumbling grandeur at the other.