What is the main conflict in In the Company of the Courtesan: A Novel by Sarah Dunant?

"In the Company of the Courtesan" is the story of Fiammetta Bianchini, a 16th-century Roman courtesan, told through the eyes of her loyal companion, the dwarf Bucino. The novel describes the ups-and-downs of Fiammetta and Bucino's fortunes as they leave Rome for Venice and set up shop in an unfamiliar city, with few friends and little money.