Private investigator AimÃĐe Leduc has been introduced to the Cao Dai temple in Paris by her partner, RenÃĐ Friant. He urges her to learn to meditate: she could use a more healthful approach to life. The Vietnamese nun Linh has been helping AimÃĐe to attain her goal, so when she asks AimÃĐe for a favorâto go to the Clichy quartier to exchange an envelope for a packageâRenÃĐ prompts AimÃĐe to agree.
But the intended recipient, ThadÃĐe Baret, is shot and dies in AimÃĐeâs arms before the transaction can be completed, leaving AimÃĐe with a wounded arm, a check for 50,000 francs, and a trove of ancient jade artifacts.
Whoever killed Baret wants the jade. The RGâthe French secret serviceâa group of veterans of the war in Indochina and some wealthy ex-colonials and international corporations seeking oil rights are all implicated. And the nun, Linh, has disappeared.