"The magnifident conclusion to the Florio saga--a sweeping, decadent, and romantic finale that tells the story of Italy's most powerful and notorious family. Glory is fleeting, fate sometimes cruel. For more than sixty years, the Florios have reigned supreme, establishing the city of Palermo as a European beacon of commerce, and making Sicily one of Italy's most powerful regions. But now fate has taken a turn. As social and economic pressures erode the stability of a young Italy, the Florios--despite their wealth and power--must watch as their iron grip over the South begins to weaken. Following in the steps of the father he idolized, Ignazzidu, now Don Ignazio, finds himself commanding the Florio family's interests and enterprises. Negligent, impetuous, and headstrong, he is everything his industrious father was not. But while he struggles to live up to the family name, his charming and loyal wife Franca rises to the occasion. A gracious and formidable host, Franca's hospitality becomes unmatched across Europe, informally crowned the "Queen of Palermo" as she holds court with an esteemed coterie of luminaries from the womanizing Puccini to the scandalous Boldini. Yet as the tides of fortune change- economic hardships, war, and human loss- their relationship will be put to the test and Franca will find that even a love as devoted as hers may falter. But the biggest threat to their survival is the death of an heir. In losing the flesh of his flesh, Ignazio--who succeeded his father without the strength or conviction to do so--will ultimately oversee the collapse of an empire built by his family's ambition, cunning, and sweat"--Page [4] of cover.