A one-time promising scholar in the field of arms and armor, a rising star in the field, was exposed as a thief and plagiarist destroying his career and blacklisting him from any further involvement in the academic world. He swears revenge against those who ruined his career and life as well as against the major figures in the world of arms and armament. Thus begins an international spree of serial killings in which a killer plays out his rage on anyone who blocked him from being successful and respected in a highly specialized field. Paris, Berlin, Edinburgh, London-the killer's reach seems to be unlimited. Professor Bradley Davison, Chairman of the History Department and Director of the Center for Medieval Studies at Queens College is the reigning authority on all things involving armaments. He is called in as a consultant to the NYPD by Inspector Mag Goldman of the Homicide Division to help decipher the clues to the identity of the killer who has been dubbed 'The Swordsman' by the New York City newspapers.