Simon Templar is the Saint--daring, dazzling, and just a little disreputable. On the side of the law, but standing outside it, he dispenses his own brand of justice one criminal at a time. When the Saint and Patricia Holm stumble upon a government test of a weapon of mass destruction, they realize they've seen something that must be kept away from the wrong hands. But the Saint's nemesis Rayt Marius is already nearby.... There is only one way to stop Marius from using the weapon to start a war--kidnapping the scientist who built it. The plot comes to a climax on the banks of the River Thames, and not everyone will survive. Leslie Charteris was born in Singapore and moved to England in 1919. He left Cambridge University early when his first novel was accepted for publication. He wrote novels about the Saint throughout his life, becoming one of the 20th century's most prolific and popular authors.