Louis La Ronde is a man whose greed is only outweighed by his knowledge of antiques and taste in fine clothes. He had earned the title of, The Man with the Flintlock Pistols, as it was well-known in the criminal world that when he was commissioned to acquire something for a client, he would carry two flintlocks as his preferred weapons. Murder would be done if necessary, to complete his tasks. A man known to the police to be a ruthless, dangerous man, his path has now crossed with Raymond Spade.

Raymond, a retired test driver had been left a very large house and fortune by his aunt. He no longer has to work risking life and limb testing prototype cars, although he did enjoy it. The bond that he had with the safety team and his manager, Sam, was something that could not be broken and the experience that he took from the test track would help him with what fate had in store for him. It was while on holiday in Austria that he first met Louis La Ronde. It was a day they would both regret.