Paris 1914. In one auspicious night Lucien Brindavoines humdrum life is thrown into wild disarray. Out of the blue a strange old man visits Brinvadoines flat and implores him to go to Istanbul to seek his destiny. No sooner are these fateful words spoken than a shot is fired through the window and the man is murdered by a mysterious assailant. Thus kicks off a madcap adventure wherein the mildmannered dilettante Brindavoine races to the Middle East by boat plane and jeep with cutthroat ass