In a luxury urban building, wealthy white families carry their lives after the Coronavirus pandemic; then art dealer Carlo, a black gay man, moves to the penthouse and begins throwing raucous parties that annoy the residents. The next-door family resents the new neighbor the most. They are the widowed lawyer John, now married to Carol, and John’s daughter, Gina, 17 years old. Dr Edmundo is the owner of the Giallo building. A lawyer, he’s John’s associate and Carol’s father, living on the ground floor apartment, with control over the dynamics of the building and managing the residents’ complaints about Carlo’s parties. To deal with his anxieties and disturbing dreams, John undergoes therapy with Dr. Kerr, who also prescribes medication for Gina, who suffers from the frustrations typical of a spoiled daughter, while Carol feels trapped in this family, developing erotic fantasies non-stop.
Carlo is found stabbed to death in his own bed. The investigation into the murder is conducted by Inspector Nanete, who dates a Financial-Business journalist, a resident in the Giallo building as well. As the investigation proceeds, the reader learns about the main characters’ previous lives, including Jim, Carlo’s boyfriend,