The trilogy begins with The Philatelist, where the death of an elderly German lady sets off a series of events that leads to murder and links to the historical past. The key to the events is an international stamp book that C.E. Hall, a fire insurance investigator/philatelist, purchased from a stamp store. The stamp book is a record of a mysterious organization that links back before World War II. Powerful figures are trying to find the stamp book as C.E. Hall tries to unravel the mystery held within the stamp book. As C.E. Hall goes through the book, he discovers a sinister organization that had possibly tried to assassinate world leaders during World War II.