1866. After the disappearance of their master, Colonel Bozzo-Corona, fourteen years earlier, the Black Coats are a mere travesty of their former selves. Taking advantage of the situation, young Saladin, nicknamed the "Sword-Swallower," the son of Similor, a gang member, now the wily Marquis de Rosenthal, steps into the void and becomes the new Godfather. His ambitious plan to restore the once-powerful criminal empire to its invicible criminal glory consists of stealing the fortune of young Justine, kidnapped as a baby and turned into a rope-dancer with the name of Mademoiselle Saphir. Justine, in reality the daughter of the wealthy Justin de Vibraye, is also desired by the evil Duc de Chaves, a deadly adversary for the Sword-Swallower...Written third, but chronologically last in the series, The Sword-Swallower (1867) was intended by Paul F val to be the final tale in the criminal saga of the Black Coats. "It is a unique work, which might arguably benefit from being read in isolation, without any reference to its companions," notes Brian Stableford.