Carlota's Legacy, rooted in a rich, historical past, this adventure-mystery finds young and accomplished art historian Michael Bennington approached at a New York jewelry auction by a pleasant enough prince and princess from Belgium who wish to engage him in a curious assignment. He must track down the whereabouts of a priceless diamond and ruby necklace the couple thought they owned, but after having theirs appraised, discovered it had somehow been switched with a cut-glass fake. Michael accepts the assignment with a heightened passion--his specialty is 19th century jewels--and is off to Mexico City where the real necklace originated. From there, he traces the path of this rare artifact to various international locales including St. Petersburg, Paris, Los Angeles and New York and ending up in Brussels where the prince and princess reside for a harrowing life-and-death finale. The quirky former owners of the necklace are all beyond belief but are historically factual nonetheless and their exotic and lurid pasts both astound and captivate the reader. Carlota's Legacy is the second installment, after The Napoleon Connection, in 'The Jewel Trilogy' and is a continuation of the entertaining exploits of the Bennington character.