It is Fall of 1964. Sean Kane is 21 years old. His family has returned to Europe and live in Munich, Germany, where his father is a CIA officer under Consular cover. On the SS Independence, while crossing the Atlantic in June, Sean meets and falls in love with beautiful Italian Countess who tells him a very strange story which seemingly fits into the narrative of his childhood years in Paris. A mystery is unveiled that leads Sean on a perilous quest that takes him from the University of Grenoble in the French Alps, where he is a student, to Paris, Munich and northern Italy.