Simon Templar

Living… in St. Petersburg, Russia. Simon doesn’t have a fixed address because he lives mostly in hotels. The scene there is reminiscent of the Tiananmen Square crisis. The death toll stands at 48 civilians and at least 21 armed forces personnel.

Profession… international thief. An American scientist named Dr. Emma Russell has worked 10 years to develop a technology for cold fusion, which could create clean, cheap energy. Ivan Tretiak, a corrupt Russian politician, has been informed that the technology will be made public at the annual nuclear science symposium in Washington D.C. He wants the plans and specifications for this technology before the symposium. He's hired Simon to steal it.

Interests… spying on Tretiak and learning of his future plans for Russia. Once Tretiak has this technology in place, the world will continue to spend half its gross national product on oil while Russia spends none, putting them on the fast track to becoming the wealthiest nation on earth. He wants to bring Simon into his administration. But Simon is planning to bring him down instead once he’s paid.

Relationship Status… single, but intermingled with his job. Wearing a disguise and using one of his many false identities – generally named after Catholic saints – he manages to seduce Dr. Russell to steal the formula from her. Simon wasn’t expecting Emma to track him down afterward. And he definitely wasn’t expecting to develop any genuine feelings for her. But he was wrong on both counts.

Challenge… not getting personally involved with the case. As he explains: “I’m a businessman. I perform services for profit. [Emma] didn't spend 10 years in that mildewed basement for the good of humanity, she did it to get rich.” Now Tretiak is also trying to get rich (well, richer), and so he's making up his own stories of sacrifice and "the good of the people." As long as Simon never mistakes this nonsense for the truth, he’ll be all right. But now that he knows what Tretiak is planning, and actually cares what happens to Emma, he’s started to break his own rules and get personally invested in what happens.

Personality… a charming rogue. Simon is more comfortable slipping into one of his many aliases and disguises than in being himself – whoever that is. He’s a thief, but a surprisingly principled one. Despite his nickname, he’s definitely no saint, but who is? Emma certainly sees good in him, and maybe she’s right.