Marie-Claire Bernard was the widow of a national hero and the daughter of a wealthy, politically powerful family and her murder threatened domestic consequences for the French Government. Eager to avoid uproar in the press, the Minister of Justice summons G?rard de Montclaire--the most renowned detective of the era--to assume a familiar role. Examining Magistrate, with sweeping powers to find and prosecute the killer. Montclaire soon learns that Marie-Claire...