A world-class criminal consultant asks Drum to keep him out of prison
Axel Spade’s Geneva office is tidier than one would expect from a man who’s wanted in twenty-six countries. A consulting criminal who sells advice on smuggling, fraud, and currency manipulation, Spade operates in style by staying on the good side of the American and Swiss authorities. But when his future son-in-law disappears after defrauding American servicemen of three million dollars, Spade becomes a target of Interpol, the CIA, and every GI with an empty wallet and a gun. He flies Washington PI Chester Drum to Switzerland to find the lost loot. But the sight of Spade’s hired goons manhandling a ruined American soldier sours Drum on helping the crook. When the destitute GI is found stabbed to death in his hotel room, Drum resolves to bring the killers to justice, no matter how stylish they might be. And of course, he won’t mind if he finds three million bucks along the way.