Manara goes to see the mother of Fazi's missing assistant, Marcuccio. It turns out he's "different" but with a phenomenal capacity for numbers. He's also a big guy, with big feet! Meanwhile, Lara and Luca are called to their boss's office. He wants results, fast, and so he's called in an expert in Cultural Assets from Rome to work alongside them.

Murder in the library. The curator of the town library was found dead by his secretary, and the assistant librarian hasn't shown up for work. Some valuable correspondence is missing, and there are some suspicious shoe prints on the floor. Manara and his team have gotten busy trying to figure it all out.

Commissioner Manara is back with a new episode, which opens, not only with the usual murder, this time in a library, but also with a care package from Manara's mother, full of Sicilian specialties such as melanzane sottolio or sott'olio, (eggplant in oil). Sottolio is a traditional and well-loved way of preserving many foods, and can be distinguished from sottaceto (in vinegar), or in salamoia (in water and salt). Of course, everyone at headquarters is more interested in the Sicilian pastries!

In the end, Lara decides that Luca Manara isn't such a bad commissioner after all. She might even tell him that to his face... sooner or later.

Although Commissario Manara's has resolved the case, his unorthodox methods are unacceptable to his superior, who threatens to have him transferred to the hinterlands of Sardinia.

At this point the murderer is easily discovered and just as easily confesses. The evening of the murder gets revisited and all previous doubts vanish. But what's to become of the killer?

In the presence of Ginevra who has come to thank both Lara and Manara for saving her reputation, they look once again at the painting of Lorenzo. A detail gives them the key to finding the murderer!

As a fitting end to this journey into Italian gastronomy, Gualtiero Marchesi shares with us the recipe for one of his most special risottos, using his own innovative techniques while keeping with tradition.

Don't miss the last part of Marika and Anna's encounter with Signora Giuseppina of the Trattoria al Biondo Tevere. You'll hear about a 56 year-old fridge, five weddings in one day, and sheep who do gardening.

A group of film artists get together for some brainstorming in order to come up with an idea for the short film competition "Caffè Corto Moak." They're running out of time, and their nerves are in tatters.

Commissioner Manara and Inspector Rubino figure out who wrote the love letters and Lara conducts the appropriate interrogation.

Coffee, in its broadest sense, is the topic of the Caffè Corto Moak, the international short film competition, now in its eighth year, promoted by Caffè Moak.

Back in the days when people traveled on horseback, Al Biondo Tevere was a convenient rest stop just outside the walls of the city. People would feed and water their horses, and trade what was in their bundles of food with their fellow travelers. Later, it became a proper restaurant and many famous people became regulars, including filmmakers, Pasolini and Bertolucci. Signora Giuseppina shares the story.

An important new element in the investigation comes into play: some romantic letters found at the victim's house. Lara is comparing the handwriting to that of the note found next to his dead body.

"Food is culture." What do we mean by this? Cultural historian, Massimo Montanari, and world-famous chef, Gualtiero Marchesi share their views.