Kertesz isn't a detective - he's a microbiologist who teaches and does
research at the University of Jerusalem. He's also a good looking
young man with an interesting background - he was born in communist
Hungary and lived in France for several years before going to Israel to
volunteer for army service.
When a small biotech company near Toulouse buys the rights to a
genetically engineered strain of bacteria he has developed, they want
him to help them work out the best method of growing the organism in
industrial amounts. Alex's protests that he has never tried to grow
bacteria on an industrial scale and knows nothing about it don't do him
any good, since the university has already agreed to this condition. so
Alex is sent to a beautiful part of France for what he expects will be a
waste of everybody's time.
For people who insisted that he come, the co-owners of Agrogenie are
strangely unwelcoming when he arrives. As Alex will soon find out, the
company has a serious problem and he has landed in the middle of it.
The cast of characters includes:
Alex Kertesz - solving complicated problems is his profession
Phillipe Chambon and Alain Sabatier - co-owners of Agrogenie
Mauricette - secretary/receptionist with attitude
Janine, Natalie, Max, Jean Claude - technicians at Agrogenie
Denise and Gerard - Alain's wife and son
Delphine - Phillipe's wife
Marie - Delphine's sister
Igor, Annechka, Boris - you guessed it - Russians
Pali - Hungarian boy
Inspector Bernadac - Toulouse detective
Sylvie - Alex's highschool sweetheart