The Bird with the Crystal Plumage

Sam Dalmas, a young American writer, is about to leave Rome and return to the United States. The evening before his departure, he witnesses an attack on a certain Monica Ranieri: the woman is stabbed and her assailant then makes his escape in the dark. The case in entrusted to detective superintendent Morosini, who informs Sam that a serial killer may be on the loose: the same person who stabbed three girls to death may be responsible for the attempted murder of Monica. Sam decides not to return to America, and to do some digging around of his own.