The story is set in Florence during the height of the Renaissance.  It opens with a 7-page shocker prologue and then unfolds in 390 pages bringing the reader back to the beginning.  The story focuses on a young woman of a prosperous Florentine family who wants to be an artist in a nonpermisive society.   Interwoven with the family story are details of what is and what is not allowed during that famous period of history.  The reader will be entertained  by the book and will learn much from it.