Cesar Mondragon had been to most of the major countries in Europe, but this would be his first trip to Luxembourg. It was a very small nation located between France, Belgium, and Germany, and had a population of no more than three-hundred thousand people. One would get the impression that it was a place where not much happened. It was therefore of little surprise to Cesar, that in his years as a private detective and inquiry agent, he had never been called to the tiny land of Luxembourg to address any issue that would merit the services of someone like him. It was therefore surprising to him, when three weeks ago he received a mailed invitation by one Alexander Decarli to join him and seven other guests for a formal gathering at the Hotel Geraldine in Luxembourg on the night of Thursday, August 3, 1939.