Amazon.com description: Product Description: By the age of 56, the Marquis Eduardo de Valfierno has perfected his con-man persona to the point that he, too, believes he is nobly born. In this novel, based on real-life events, the clever Valfierno plans and executes one of the most notorious art robberies of the 20th century?the theft of the "Mona Lisa" from the Louvre. Employing a cadre of international cohorts, including a superb artist named Yves Chaudron, the barber Ramon, an Egyptian carpenter by the name of Farid, and the crippled lad Miguel Acerdo, Valfierno carefully spins his web of deceit. It is fascinating to see the expert team in action as they move from Mexico City to Paris and then to New York and Newport. What is most intriguing is that the details of the robbery did not come out until the early 1930s, about 20 years after the actual heist occurred. Noah (All The Right Answers, 1988. o.p.) successfully develops in detail the personas and motivations of the singular players in this tale of intrigue and duplicity.