Raymond Benson's fifth original James Bond novel is set in the south of France, where Bond defeats a vicious criminal - and harder still, an old friend turned enemy- A movie is a perfect hiding place for crime, as Bond finds when he uncovers how a film producer is a front for an international crime conspiracy. The Union - already encountered in the latest two Bond adventures High Time to Kill and Doubleshot - reveals its connections to the Cannes Film Festival and the Corsican mafia. Before he has finished, Bond will have to save the producer's exquisite movie-star wife, confront Le Gerant, the brains behind the Union - and settle a score from many years ago.