When Vincent van Goghs Portrait of Monsieur Trabuc turns up at the Metropolitan Museum of Arta fifty million dollar painting sent from Argentina like an ordinary packagethe case goes to NYPD detective Clay Ryder. Ryder discovers that in Paris, 1944, a Jewish widow accused a German SS officer of stealing the painting. The officer was reported to have died at the wars end; the whereabouts of the van Gogh between then and now remain a blank. Ryders search for the widows heirs leads him to NYU professor Rachel Meredith. When the museum presents the painting to her in a spectacular public ceremony thats front-page news, the case is closed. But Ryder cant seem to shake it. When Rachel Meredith is attacked, he realizes that what seems like a simple assault doesnt quite add up. And he still wonders who sent the van Gogh from Argentina. One of his best contacts in the art world floats a theory that ties the van Gogh to a black market auction in the 70s. Then Israels Mossad pays Ryder a clandestine visit; the news splash about the van Gogh is the first link theyve had to the SS officer in decades. As art dealers, auction houses, and museums vie to buy the van Gogh from Ms. Meredith and she refuses to sell, the situation goes from predatory to violent. Ryder has to race against time to outmaneuver a cunning mastermind who will resort to as many murders as it takes to get hold of Monsieur Trabuc.