Pete Sawyer is a private eye of a different kind. The son of a World War II American pilot and a brave French resistance fighter, he grew up on both sides of the Atlantic — though he prefers his sun-dappled villa on the Riviera to most other places. He takes pleasure in a fine wine...and a good gun. His French name is Pierre-Ange, and it suits him. In English, it means Stone Angel.

On a midnight in December, Fritz Donhoff — Pete's partner and surrogate father — is shot down in Paris. Fritz has left a case behind that Pete can't turn his back on. Susan Kape, the beautiful young oil heiress, hungers for a foothold in the international art world — and an Etruscan tomb filled with priceless relics may help her get it. All she needs is an easy eighteen million dollars and Pete's protection while she has the discovery authenticated in Italy. Pete Sawyer must call on all his creative powers as a sleuth and survivor to solve this inspired mystery — while a gallery of murder victims collects artlessly around him...