A History of Water follows two men across the Renaissance globe. One of them – an art collector and historian – returns home and dies in a grisly and curious murder. The other – a ruffian, vagabond and braggart – ends up as the national poet of Portugal. The stories of Damião de Góis and Luís de Camões capture the extraordinary wonders that awaited Europeans on their arrival in India and China, and the vast conspiracy to silence the questions posed about the nature of history and of human life.