Time and space collide in parallel lives spanning 700 years when author Nick Tosches is drawn into a violent quest to confirm the origins of a manuscript believed to be Dante's The Divine Comedy, written in the poet's own hand. After the sudden death of his daughter, Nick is summoned from self-imposed exile by a mafia don for his expertise on the Italian writer. With the help of an unpredictable assassin named Louie, the pair embarks on a dark and murderous journey to steal and authenticate the priceless work. Moving between the 21st and 14th centuries, In the Hand of Dante weaves together the lives of Nick and Dante in their obsessive search for love, beauty, and the divine.