A hijacked delivery vehicle draws St-Cyr and Kohler back to the
killing fields of World War I
The last time Jean-Louis St-Cyr visited the ruins of this ancient abbey,
during one of the bloodiest campaigns of the Great War, a sniper nearly
killed him. Three decades later, death has brought him here again. Ever
since the German occupation of France, the chief inspector has worked
alongside German detective inspector Hermann Kohler, solving crimes too
common to pique the Gestapo's interest. Now, during the fall of 1943,
the war is going badly for the Third Reich, but conflicts continue to
plague these two unlikely allies.
A bank-owned cargo van is parked near the crumbling monastery, its
contents ransacked, its passengers murdered. The killers took small
bills but left behind a bounty in smuggled champagne, cheese, and
coffee. Even more confounding is the expensive pair of high heels left
behind. Were the thieves from the Resistance, or from the underworld?
Who is the mysterious woman who was wearing those shoes? St-Cyr and
Kohler have a feeling that the answers are hiding in the cold French
rain.