He is Joseph Lyman Livingston - kingmaker, selfmade multimillionaire, manipulator of men and governments, founder and chief executive of the vast Manhattan corporation Livingston Industries, Inc.

He springs from bed with a feeling of triumph. At last, after an obsessive pursuit, he has captured the company owned by an old enemy and former partner.

It is J. L.'s day, he is anxious to get to New York to clinch the final capitulation.

But waiting on the highway near his home are a sinister trio. The thin-faced man in black gloves. The impetuous blond youth, infatuated with the thrill of killing. And the old gravedigger with the twisted nose and missing fingers.

J. L.'s chauffer-driven limousine heads for Manhattan. It is abruptly stopped. Men force their way in. A pistol Barrel rakes J. L.'s face. The man who controlled no longer is in control... it is not his day, after all.