The goats of Vigata once grazed on the trash-strewn site still known as the Pasture Now local enterprise of a different sort flourishes drug dealers and prostitutes of every flavour But their discreet trade is an upset when two employees of the Splendour Refuse Collection Company discover the body of engineer Silvio Luparello, one of the local movers and shakers, apparently deceased in flagrante at the Pasture The coroner's verdict is death from natural causes - refreshingly unusual for Sicily But Inspector Salvo Montalbano, is not ready to close the case - even though he's being pressured by Vigata's police chief, judge and bishop