Foreign rights: Valeria Zito (valeria.zito@einaudi.it)

She was a girl from the working class suburbs, like so many others, without any big dreams. Then fate stepped in and offered her an opportunity; she grabbed it. She became the Swede. A new, grand female character from one of Italy’s top crime writers.

Rome no longer has a master. Everyone can take a piece of it. She did.

Sharon, aka Sharo: twenty-five years old, blond, tall, thin, with a Nordic face that’s always sulky. She isn’t a classic beauty and yet she attracts men like honey attracts flies. Ever since her father died, she has been taking care of her mother, an invalid; they live together in a miserable apartment in the suburbs. Sharo has a vocational certificate, she is fairly good with a PC, and she has walked away from quite a few precarious jobs, always for the same reason: her boss’ wandering hands. Then one day, she makes a mysterious “delivery” for her boyfriend, a petty criminal, and her existence changes: it’s a turning point. Almost by chance, and with the protection of a decadent nobleman, Sharo begins her irresistible rise through the criminal ranks. GHB and other synthetic drugs have become widespread at every level of society and this lets her earn more money than she ever dreamed was possible. But the organized crime that counts and that has always controlled the market – the Calabrians, the Albanians, neighborhood gangs – notice her and begins to keep an eye on her, to look at her with respect, fear, and hate. There, in that environment, in the dark zone of the city, nobody calls her by name anymore. For everybody, she is the Swede.