THE GAME

After the death of Leonardo da Vinci, many of his notes and drawings wound up with Francesco Melzi, his friend and heir. But the rumor quickly went round that one of his famous codices had disappeared. Three years later, in 1522, Valdo, a young man burning with ambition, receives a letter telling him to go to the Du Cloux manor house, and to seek the renowned codex.  Valdo, promised a significant reward, accepts the mission and is immediately engaged in a meticulous investigation, on the trail of Leonardo’s most precious secret…

The manor is home to Marie Babou de la Bourdasière, the King of France’s mistress. Valdo convinces her that he is a student of Francesco Melzi, there to study Leonardo’s last machines, and, thus disguised, he begins his search. In the course of his inquiry the young man comes upon characters like Babou, whom he attempts to seduce, Saturnin, the mysterious and shifty caretaker, and even the King of France himself! He also has to solve enigmas based on Leonardo’s work: repair a swing bridge, paint a copy of the Mona Lisa, etc…. But while following the trail of the genius, Valdo has no inkling of the secret that his labors are about to reveal, nor of the perils that lie in wait for him.