In the Caucasus a rebel fighter battles against the rule of an oppressive Russian Governor, although he is in real life a prince who pretends to be a supporter of the Governor.
Giovanni used to be a humble, mild-mannered government clerk whose life was turned upside down when he met Giulio, a notorious forger who at once set about manipulating the over-confident man.
Stevie Carson, a newspaper reporter, and Danny Butler, the "morgue" manager on the same newspaper, set out to track down the killer of a colleague, a book-reviewer who was involved with a group of rare book forgers and whose sister has been convinced her editor-fiance, Bill Monroe, killed him.
A hated country gentleman is murdered, and the inspector on the case takes the veiwer through his thoughts about the possible murderer and motives as he questions everyone concerned.