Residents of a retirement community in the arizona desert sat transfixed, listening to the story of stijn de bruyne, a mysterious dutch painter. should they, the storyteller asked, consider the artist's activities in occupied holland during world war ii heroic or criminal? and what of his postwar behavior in the united states? * de bruyne's escape from europe and eventual presence in the united states involved the government's connivance with unscrupulous refugees who prayed on the immigration authorities' willingness--for political reasons--to overlook certain indiscretions. relieved at escaping scrutiny of his wartime activities and hoping for a new life, the artist moved west in search of perfect landscapes. he fell in love with an attractive café owner in wyoming who offered to sell his paintings at her place of business. but de bruyne soon learned he couldn't dodge his past. former dutch colleagues of de bruyne, nazi collaborators and jew hunters, had tracked him to his love nest. they demanded the artist help them steal valuable art from a new york museum and threatened to expose his shady past should he refuse. meanwhile, the fbi had followed the dutch gang as the unsavory pack of thieves tracked de bruyne to wyoming and montana. along the way the gang carried out a series of minor thefts, making the fbi's work much easier. bureau agents suspected the bunch of planning a major operation, perhaps one with a payoff that would set them up for the rest of their lives. the g-men demanded de bruyne's cooperation in bringing the gang to heel--or else. stijn de bruyne, trapped between the demands of the fbi and those of the ruthless thieves, knew that if he failed to assist either, his fate would rest with the international criminal court at the hague.