A car hurtles down the driveway of a luxury villa in Switzerland. The driver is a young woman, Lucia Bernardi. Inside the house, police find the body of her lover on the bedroom floor. The dead man - Ahmed Fathir Arbil - was an Iraqi refugee, who has been tortured and killed. Lucia vanishes into hiding in the South of France.Piet Maas, a journalist for the World Reporter, sets out on Lucia's trail, hoping for a scoop. Soon he must decide whether to publish his story - which will lead to Lucia's exposure and almost certain death - or join her in executing a perilous scheme that could net them both a fortune.