In Venice, Italy, second graders Ethan and Ella hope to find a stolen gondola and a hidden mosaic before their parents realize they are missing.

When a new glassblower arrives to help in the family business, the attraction Maria feels for him causes a web of conflicting emotions to grow even more tangled.

Two brothers, having run away from the aunt who plans to adopt the younger one, are sought by a detective hired by their aunt, but they have found shelter with--and protection from--Venice's "Thief Lord."