The Eight Strokes of the Clock is a collection of short stories centred on Arsène Lupin, former gentleman thief extraordinaire. In this series, Lupin has abandoned his life of crime in favour of that of crime solver. In Paris, six women have vanished, only to be found a week later, emaciated and disfigured, their skulls split open. What little evidence the police have suggests that the murderer is a woman and that she is preparing to strike again. When Prince Rénine's lover disappears on a cold night in October, he fears that she is about to become the latest victim. Most noblemen would be helpless to rescue her before the hatchet falls, but Rénine is an alias of Arsène Lupin, the world's greatest thief, and he will stop at nothing to catch the killer. Fearsome creatures may lurk in the back alleys of Paris, but none is as dangerous, or as brilliant, as Arsène Lupin.