My second BBC radio outing with Simon Templar. Again set in the 30s, Templar foils a nasty plot by a British/German arms manufacturer to support a fascist overthrow of the French Government after stumbling across a fire at a country house. Originally published in 1938 under the title "Prelude to War". This was a little better, maybe because I was more acclimatized to the 1930s upper class dialogue and manners. Leslie Charteris’ blue-eyed hero was apparently known as ‘The Saint’ after the calling card he left at the scenes of his crimes – a sketch of a stick figure with a halo. Dramatised by Neville Teller. Cast included Paul Rhys, Kim Thomson, Fiona Fullerton, John Baddeley, Jonathan Keeble, John Hartley, Geoffrey Whitehead, John Turner, John Hollis, Andrew Branch, Roger May, David Collings and David Timson. Other parts played by the cast. Directed by Matthew Walters. First broadcast September 1995.