Parody; satire; a comic novel packed with hilarious episodes, some macabrely so; the history of a Quest; a page-turner of an adventure tale It is all of these things A French Duc aestivates (mm ) in his Yorkshire retreat, unaware that in the neighbouring county an evil compatriot is about to exploit the weaknesses of two men in order to steal long-hidden artefacts. The Duc accepts a commission from the Catholic Church to find and recover the malevolent Talisman and two scrolls with perilous content. Helped by old friends, a young American astro-physicist and a maimed, aristocratic, exiled Russian biochemist, and also his homicidal chauffeur, his quest takes him from the Yorkshire dales to the south of France and back again. His path crosses that of two delightful French women who, it turns out, are unwitting but crucial elements in the malefactor's wiles. Fortunes fluctuate as the story gathers pace before it hurtles to a wholly surprising denouement "