Clifford Irving is the author of several thrillers as well as a book published in 1969 by McGraw-Hill which tells the life of the forger Elmyr de Hory. The success of this book gives him the idea to write another one : a biography of Howard Hughes, the former owner of RKO film studios, distinguished aviator and owner of the TWA airline, big industrialist and casino operator. Irving assures his publisher that he is in close personal contact with the billionaire...

Konrad Kujau was born in June 1938 in the Saxony region of Germany. His childhood was marked by war and poverty. His father, a simple cobbler, was a fervent supporter of Hitler, like many Germans at the time. When he died in 1944, the family found themselves in terrible poverty. In 1945, during the bombing of Dresden, the last members of the family were dispersed. Thereafter, Konrad grew up in various orphanages in East Germany...

Ceslaw Bojarski was a quiet, discreet man, born in Poland in the winter of 1912. He studied at the Polytechnic Institute of Dantzing and then, he became an officer in the Polish army during the Second World War. Taken prisoner by the Hungarians, he escaped and took refuge in France. There, he was re-enlisted in the First Polish Division...