IN A BASEMENT studio just outside Paris, Gaspard Winckler, a master forger, has just murdered Anatole Madera, the crooked head of a group of international art dealers, and his patron. 

Former 400m queen Marie-Jose Perec is convinced French heptathlon favourite Eunice Barber has the required spark to overcome Swedish talent Carolina Kluft and win the world crown at the Stade de France.