An elderly couple, both religious fanatics, barricade themselves in their home and begin shooting from the windows and balconies apparently with no reason. Montalbano’s men finally succeed in disarming them: there seems to be no reason for this insane action but inside the home they find a strangely disfi gured infl atable doll. A few days later, when an identical doll is discovered in a garbage bin, Montalbano has a bad premonition.