When the Arno River floods in 1966, devouring the treasures of Florence, Margot Harrington, a young book conservator, volunteers to salvage what she can. In the waterlogged library of a Carmelite convent, she unearths a Renaissance gem: an anthology of sensual poems and drawings. This discovery propels Margot on an odyssey of the senses and the spirit, wherein she explores the ineffable "sixteen pleasures" alongside a forbidden romance. As the boundaries of her world expand, Margot confronts loss, rebirth, and the intricate tapestries of life, love, and art.