Maureen Paschal's detective work leads her to Renaissance Tuscany after she publishes an account of her discovery of a gospel written by Jesus, where she uncovers the secrets of the Medici family and the truth behind the birth of the Renaissance.

The Italian Renaissance is remembered as much for intrigue as it is for art, with papal politics and infighting among Italy's many city-states. The attempted assassination of the Medici brothers in Florence in 1478 is one of the best-known examples of the machinations of the age. While the assailants were the Medici's rivals, the Pazzi family, questions have always lingered about who really orchestrated the attack. Five centuries later, Marcello Simonetta,...