Venus in Copper finds our hero being hired by a family of rich freed slaves to investigate Severina Zotica, a widow whose previous three husbands have mysteriously died. Now she is about to marry one of the Hortensii clan: but is it love, or is she simply after his money?

It seems like a straightforward job, until Severina's latest fiance is murdered. What follows leads Falco on a dangerous trail of poison, revenge and property development. Not to mention fortune-tellers, snake dancers, a talkative parrot, a culinary encounter with a turbot, and an unannounced visit from the Emperor's son.

Meanwhile, he is trying to repair his on-off relationship with senator's daughter Helena Justina, and avoid getting on the wrong end of some villainous attacks...

Venus in Copper follows on from BBC Radio 4's hugely successful dramatisations of The Silver Pigs and Shadows in Bronze . Anna Madeley returns as Helena Justina, along with Ben Crowe as Falco's best friend Petronius, Jonathan Keeble as Titus Caesar and Frances Jeater as Falco's interfering mother.