Murder and romance, innocence and experience dominate this masterfully constructed novel set in Rome during the mid-19th century. Three young American artists and their friend, an Italian count, find their lives irrevocably linked when one of them commits a murder. Nathaniel Hawthorne's final novel symbolizing the Fall of Man is a captivating tale concerned as much with the power and beauty of art as with the striking, intimate details of the historic sites visited by the travelers. A provocative view at Americans abroad, this long-overlooked novel is "must reading" for anyone who relishes crimes of passion set against the picturesque details of Old World landmarks.