The Season of the Spider

It is the summer of 1988 and in Torino an inexplicable event takes place: the Vittorio Emanuele bridge that crosses the river Po is completely invaded by large, endless spiderwebs extending all along the parapet that leads to the neoclassical Gran Madre di Dio church on the other side.

In the meantime, Prosecutor Francesco Scalviati, nicknamed by his colleagues the “cop-judge”, is in the neighborhood of Pian del Lot for the investigation of a crime scene: it is the third homicide in a row that seems to have been committed by the same perpetrator. Once again, the victims are a couple who were hidden from view, and once again, one of the victims was killed with two shots from a pistol. However, this time it was the girl; therefore, with each crime, the killer is changing his method. Among those present on the scene is Leda De Almeida, an investigative journalist who has drug dependency issues.

Here, Scalviati will receive an unexpected visit from an American, Isaak Stoner, who is an analyst from the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit. Stoner proposes to consult on the case due to his specific knowledge in the field of criminology, and of the bold new practice called profiling. Only the combined analytical powers of Scalviati, De Almeida, and Stoner will take the killer down.