When a rare 16th-century manuscript lands on her desk courtesy of William, a struggling painter, book restorer Rose makes a startling discovery: it is a palimpsest. Beneath the text is a different document. What they discover is the secret diary of William's ancestor, a Venetian painter who has been commissioned by Venice's admiral to paint a portrait of his favourite courtesan...it is a diary of forbidden love and dangerous political plots. Together, Rose and William work to solve the mystery of what happened to the secret lovers. As feelings develop between Rose and William, their own experience begins to mirror the affair that they're uncovering, and each set of lovers is forced to confront the reality of their romance.