A harmless old man was dead, bashed over the head in his room at the Beaumont, Pierre Chambrun's luxury hotel. Had it been anyone else, Chambrun would have left matters to the police. But Mr. Cardew was the hotel's favorite permanent guest.

The old man had been dangerous to someone.

Maybe it was the dare-devil racing driver who was once acquitted of murder... or the suave and sinister ex-Nazi who was understandably reticent about his past... or the beautiful blonde whose body promised ecstacy, and whose eyes hinted of secret terrors...

Before he learned the murderer's name, Chambrun found himself deep in a deadly drama of illegal drugs, with some of the world's most glamorous and important people high on the list of sinister suspects. One thing was sure, the killer was a privileged guest at the Beaumont!