In this third book, Giorgio Vandelli, the brewer of Modena, does his best to uphold the House of Duke Francesco V of Austria-Este of Modena in its final years of futile struggle against local revolutionaries, the Piedmontese, and the fledgling state of a unified Italy. He operates as an agent under cover in Modena, parties merrily with the Emperor Franz Josef in Vienna, and goes on a reconnaissance mission in Mexico. Everywhere he is caught up in amorous adventure and misadventure. In 1861 he also creates a well-known Mexican beer.

Riccardo Pignatti is the pen name of a writer of mystery stories. He splits his time between Milan and Emilia Romagna and cultivates a passion for the history of Modena. He also cultivates a passion for beer. In these novels about the brewer of Modena he wanted to take himself away from his usual themes of modern-day homicides with their erotic and sinister tones in order to undertake a more cheeerfull narra¬tive with themes that are historical, picaresque, and related to beer.

Riccardo Pignatti, pseudonimo di uno scrittore di gialli noir, abita tra Milano e l'Emilia-Romagna. Coltiva la passione per la storia di Modena e per la birra. Con i romanzi del birraio di Modena ha voluto esularsi dai suoi soliti temi di omicidi moderni a sfondo erotico-sinistro per intraprendere una narrativa più allegra su temi storici, picareschi e birristici.