Wabash Collegeβs new assistant professor hired 13 August 1897 is not the educator he appears; he is an elite thief and assassin. Alexander Greyfell takes the job not to teach mathematics but to steal a special package from Heinrich Skuldβs international smuggling ring forty-one days hence. On 23 September 1897, Skuld plans to use Wabash Collegeβs Hovey Museum as the drop-off point for the most valuable contraband on earth.
Heisting the item from Skuld, however, is the least of Greyfellβs challenges. His most daunting task is staying alive until its arrival. He must outwit the leaders of the two largest criminal empires in the world, Cole Cordwood and Torquemada Montenegro. They too want Skuldβs package; and, because Greyfell betrayed and swindled them both, they each want him.
Nonetheless, dodging legions of trained killers hunting him down proves not as difficult for the urbane Greyfell as blending with ordinary citizens of Crawfordsville, Indiana. While fighting for his survival with audacity and violence, Greyfell must present himself as peaceful and unassuming to maintain his cover as an instructor at the Presbyterian school.
Before the package arrives, a multitude of cutthroats descends upon the small college town. The sleepy capital of Montgomery County becomes plagued with deception, treachery, torture, and murder. The deadly struggle between Greyfell and his ruthless adversaries for possession of the package takes numerous, ironic twists.
The author has graphically depicted torture in this novel. A portion of the proceeds from every ebook sold will be donated to OMCT, World Organisation Against Torture, based in Geneva, Switzerland. The author hopes the funds generated will help eradicate the practice of torture in the real world, relegating the contemptible activity solely to the pages of fiction.