Richard has some work related business of his own to conduct and is thus reluctant to acquiesce. However, Marty is his best friend and, as usual, Richard is unable to refuse him, so he sets off for Brussels, believing that he will be able to return to London within a few days.

When he arrives in Brussels he expects to meet Marty but instead he is approached by Werner Straub, claiming to be Marty’s emissary. Straub eventually confesses that he has kidnapped Marty and left him tied to a kitchen chair in his (Straub’s) mother’s apartment. In return for telling Richard how to locate and enter his mother’s apartment, he will accept the attaché in payment. Richard is naturally skeptical of Straub’s allegation until he produces a photo of Richard tied to a chair with a date stamp on it for the previous day. Now Richard is anxious to free Marty but less than thrilled that he must admit losing custody of the briefcase which is obviously valuable.

Robert Goddard, who is a master of the historical mystery, has outdone himself with this effort. He has produced an intricately woven, beautifully executed plot while simultaneously educating his readers about Russian and Scandinavian history from the reign of Tsar Nicholas II to World War II. The contents of the attaché case are gradually revealed and the importance of said contents to diverse individuals becomes known. How the owner of the briefcase, a British detective living on the Isle of Wight, plays a role in the mystery only adds to the complexity.

The back story which forms the basis of the plot is seamlessly integrated into the narrative. Every detail the reader needs to understand what will follow is carefully inserted with no bone jarring shifts of time or location. It is easy to be sympathetic to Richard who, though competent, is always subservient to Marty’s overbearing personality. Marty is lucky to have such a devoted friend even though Marty essentially stole his wife and has caused him unending grief. Marty himself is an interesting character study especially in regard to how he has chosen to deal with the fact that his time on earth is severely limited.

The location of various events in the novel give the reader an informative travelogue of Scandinavia, Germany, and Britain, with tidbits of description of the southeastern United States. How characters that do not speak the same language manage to communicate is informative. Goddard makes those that speak only one language very humble indeed.

Though the action of the tale takes place in the modern world replete with cell phones, computers, and the like, the past provides the motives for what the characters do and how they act. Although financial gain is almost a given for most folk, other equally strong motives play an important role in the outcome with Marty, a dying man, leading the way.

Goddard has a unique ability to communicate his meaning with subtlety He makes his readers think. His vivid descriptions enable one to picture a character, a scene, or an atmosphere. One can easily imagine the frigid cold of a Finnish winter, accompanied by a stark landscape. This is not a tale that could have happened in any large metropolitan city in the world. It had to happen where it did.

--Andy Plonka