France 1961. Operation Ponctuelle: the name given to top level assassinations of Gaullist Ministers. Two men lie in wait in a basement garage underneath the Boulevard St. Germain for the Minister of Special Affairs, their aim to kidnap their target and use him as a bargaining chip in the internecine strife that is tearing France apart. All goes to plan until one of the men reveals his true nature. First the four bodyguards die, then the Minister, then his girlfriend, whose tip off made the operation possible. The other man looks on in horror as a monster is born, a killer more ruthless than all the other players in the deadly war. Soon the fragmented security services are on the look out for the assassin, codenamed Diderot.

But in the boiler room paranoia all are fair game, as the police, the army and top secret Maurice Bureau rip each other apart in the search for Diderot. Only an Englishman holds the threads which will unravel the enigma that is Diderot. But for Harry Metcalfe, differing motives of love, friendship and revenge mean that the job in hand is a difficult one, and the chances of his survival in the balancing act even slimmer.; Gripping espionage thriller from the man hailed as the next Frederick Forsyth.