It was a 1972 Rally 200 in the same shade of orange as Donatella Versace with white, go-fast stripes down each side. It was bright and brash and made every other Vespa in the workshop look dull. Even sitting on its stand it had a swagger.

Best-selling writer and traveller Peter Moore decides to go on an adventure through Sicily, Sardinia and the Amalfi Coast as a last fling before the onset of fatherhood.

Riding his bright orange Vespa, Marcello, through some of the world's most stunning scenery, Peter meets a multitude of interesting characters and discovers a side of Italy that tourists rarely see. Eliciting free beers from barmen, swoons from young women and beeps and whistles from other drivers, Peter finds that this most Italian of machines draws him deep into the heart of this fascinating and fun-loving country.