When the ruler of the Balkan state of Merida vanishes from his locked limousine, official Washington is baffled. The President of the United States summons the one man who can solve the mystery-Doc Savage No sooner does the Man of Bronze reach the nation's capitol than an even more bizarre phenomenon manifests. A long-dead monarch, King Fausto the First, returns from the grave to plunge his royal sword into the vitals of anyone suspected of knowing the whereabouts of the vanished modern ruler From Washington to Manhattan, Doc and his fighting brain trust race to unravel one royal riddle while battling the untouchable phantom potentate known as The Whistling Wraith