Albert Spaggiari engineered the European crime of the century-a 1976 bank heist accomplished, as a note left in the empty vault said, "Without guns, without violence, without hate". He and his 20 men had dug a 25 foot tunnel from the city sewer system into the back, where they spent a weekend cooking meals, drinking wine and clearing out a total of $8 to $10 million in gold, jewelry, gems and cash reserves. Tracked down and captured, Spaggiari escaped from the French gendarmes by leaping out a magistrate's window and onto the back of a motorcycle. Convicted in absentia and sentenced to life in prison, he retired to a ranch in Argentina-purchased, according to his memoirs, with the proceeds from the robbery. He taunted police for more than a decade until his mysterious death in 1989, which made him international headlines once again. The loot was never recovered.

Ken Follett was born in Cardiff, Wales in 1949. Forbidden to watch television as a boy , he spent much of his time reading mysteries and thriller. After graduating from the University of London with a degree in philosophy, Follett worked as a journalist, until he published his first hugely successful book the Eye of the Needle. His other works include On Wings of Eagles, Hammer to Eden, Code to Zero and Jackdaw.