Charlie Howard travels the globe writing suspense novels for a living. To supplement his income--and keep his hand in--Charlie has a small side business: stealing for a very discreet clientele on commission. When a mysterious American offers Charlie 20,000 euros to steal two small monkey figurines to match the one he already has, Charlie is suspicious; the job seems too good to be true, and of course, it is: He soon finds the American beaten nearly...

Retiring from his life of crime to write novels in Venice, gentleman thief Charlie is blackmailed into committing a dastardly deed in order to reclaim a prized rare book that has been stolen by a femme-fatale burglar.

In Berlin, Charlie Howard, part-time writer, part-time thief, is called to duty on behalf of Her Majesty's Government to locate a sensitive stolen item and in the course of his "duty" witnesses a murder. And that's just for starters.