One night in Monaco, my best friend, Maxence, disappeared from the middle of the Monte Carlo casino like blowing away a breath of smoke.

I have no idea what Maxence was doing in Monaco that night. Yeah, he loves the Monte Carlo casino—the stage of British spy movies, billionaires, Russian mafia, and roulette.

But too many people in Monaco think he might be a danger to them.

He never should have been there.

But he was.

And so was Simone. She’s trouble from our past at boarding school. Her husband is a good friend of some of the people who would be happier if Maxence wasn’t around anymore.

They tell me Maxence was here in the casino, and then a few minutes later, he was gone.

Like he dropped off the face of the Earth.

Or like he was dropped off one of Monaco’s cliffs and into the blue Mediterranean Sea, which was just a few feet from where he was standing when he disappeared.

Arthur and I are in Monaco to find Maxence, no matter what it takes.

But we might end up finding his body.