The story told in this book is based on events that took place more than thirty years ago. The theft of eight priceless paintings took place as told; they were hidden in my father’s cellar in the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx for about two years until my wife and I removed them. My cousin and his partner were arrested for their roles in the crime. I have taken some fictional liberties in the reconstruction of dialogue that occurred back in the 1970s and in the invention of details that most likely happened during breaks in the main action of the story, which is why this book can be read as either a memoir or a novel. In June 2007, one of the paintings, Monet’s “Nympheas,” sold at auction in London for $36 million.