Naples Unmasked

In Renaissance Naples the nobles play a dangerous game of false loyalty and open rebellion with their Spanish oppressors, while the countless poor have turned the streets into a playground of desperate exuberance. But there is more to fear than politics and poverty in a land where necromancers and harpies thrive.Among the lords of the criminal underground is Puozzolino, owner of the Good Friday, the greatest bordello in Christendom. Its customers can frolic in a recreation of ancient Rome, enjoy the pleasures of a real nymph in its gardens, or explore darker delights in the witches' cave.Despite his success, Puozzolino's life is plagued by strife and a growing spiritual unrest. His rash act of murdering a nobleman for revenge provokes both Spain's harsh justice and the capo of a rival clan. Though Puozzolino is too distracted by the young runaway, Isabella, to pay much attention to his growing problems of gang warfare, a duplicitous adviser waiting to stab him in the back, and an insane, defrocked cardinal who leads a group of hellspawned followers.Struggling against this madness is Puozzolino's jealous lover, Putta, who tries to keep their lives from falling apart.