A G-8 summit is set for Rome the day after Christmas; the Italian and Japanese governments will announce an aid package for the Balkans. Kuroda arrives from Tokyo to improve security at the embassy, making waves with his direct manner. A Japanese tourist who’s a single mother reports that her young daughter has been kidnapped. Posing as the woman’s husband, Kuroda takes the lead with the kidnappers, who want money and no cops. However, the law requires that Kuroda notify local authorities, who blunder a bit. Various exchanges go awry; then the kidnappers send the mother and Kuroda to the Amalfi coast on what appears to be a goose chase. Why the delay? What’s going on?