In Rome for the Olympics, Drum witnesses an assassination When he was in college, Kyle Ryder picked up athletic records effortlessly. Now he picks up girls. An Olympic-quality javelin thrower, he has recently fallen for a Czechoslovakian Amazon named Hilda, whose weapon of choice is the discus. On the eve of the Rome summer Olympics, Kyles father hires private detective Chester Drum to follow his son. He doesnt mind the girlits her Soviet handlers who make him nervous. The Olympic torch hasnt even been lit when their love affair takes its first casualty. Their Italian go-between, Signor Mozzoni, is crossing the street when a Citroën runs him down. With their protector dead, Kyle and his girlfriend vanish. If Drum doesnt find the missing athletes quickly, the Soviet trainers will give them a workout from which theyll never recover.