When Sofia Romano's sister vanishes without a trace from an opulent Milan hotel, the frantic search detonates a revelation that could rewrite art history: What if the Renaissance masterpieces adorning the world's most venerated museums-the paintings that millions have wept before, that scholars have devoted lifetimes to studying-are nothing more than exquisite lies? Sofia finds unlikely allies in three formidable American sisters forged in the clandestine world of international intelligence, accompanied by their extraordinarily intuitive Maltese, Einik, whose remarkable instincts prove as invaluable as any weapon. Together, they penetrate Milan's rarefied art establishment-a glittering realm where billion-euro auctions unfold in chandeliered halls, where provenance can be purchased as easily as champagne, and where the velvet ropes separating the privileged from the merely wealthy also divide truth from carefully constructed fiction. Their investigation leads them through labyrinthine catacombs beneath centuries-old cobblestones, into invitation-only salons where a single authentication can topple governments, and face-to-face with adversaries whose pedigree is as impeccable as it is terrifying. These are the heirs of history's most notorious architects of cultural annihilation-descendants who have transformed their inheritance of systematic theft into an art form more sophisticated than the masterpieces they steal. But as the women peel back layers of deception spanning continents and generations, they discover Leora's abduction is merely the opening gambit in a far more intricate game-one rooted in forbidden passion, devastating betrayal, and a criminal empire that has been operating in plain sight for seventy years. The question isn't whether the greatest heist in history succeeded. It's whether it ever stopped. THE MILAN DECEPTION launches an electrifying international mystery series that traverses the world's most captivating cities and penetrates its most exclusive enclaves-where artistic genius becomes criminal weapon, where cultural patrimony masks systematic plunder, and where beauty, power, and violence converge in ways that will leave you questioning everything you thought you knew about the art hanging on museum walls. For readers who crave the sophisticated espionage of Daniel Silva, the art-world authenticity of Iain Pears, and the breathless pacing of a story where every revelation raises the stakes-and every masterpiece conceals a murder.