An Italian general is found dead in his Rome apartment, and near the corpse lies a card engraved with the image of the Salamander, a weird legendary beast that lives in fire. Who is the sender of this mysterious card and what is its meaning? When Colonel Matucci investigates he finds himself suddenly thrown into the centre of a desperate web of political violence and intrigue.

          As he delves deeper the scale of intrigue becomes more and more alarming. The extremists of both sides – communist and fascist – are preparing to make their bids for power, and Matucci is trapped between them. He is faced with an aginising choice. How much is he prepared to pay to survive – his lover….. his conscience….. or more?