The narrative alternates between storyteller and critical interlocutor, combining fiction and commentary to trace how three marble busts venerated as relics arrived at a secluded Dalmatian monastery. It follows merchants, relic dealers, and local communities engaged in the trade and protection of sacred remains, offers vivid descriptions of the Branta valley and coastal landscape, and proposes practical, nonmiraculous explanations for the relics' provenance. Recurring concerns include the commerce of piety, the formation of local religious traditions, and the tension between legendary accounts and rational, documentary interpretation.
