Stiletto — Harold Robbins

An amoral young Italian aristocrat with a penchant for violence and a lust for women, Cesare Cardinali enters into a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with a special agent out to destroy the criminal organization for who Cesare works.

Cesare Cardinale is an amoral, aristocratic Italian playboy -- an entrepreneur and race car driver who wants for nothing -- whether it's fast cars, beautiful women, or orgies of debauchery. Cesare, however, has two dirty secrets: First, he has a penchant for violence that borders on the sadistic and sociopathic; second, he owes his extravagant life to a Sicilian Mafia don, creating a seemingly perfect relationship -- as he leads a double life as a Mafia assassin.

But when Cesare is ordered to murder four U.S. government witnesses in protective custody, he attracts the attention of a mysterious special agent who will stop at nothing to bring the crime syndicate down. Soon Cesare is engaged in a lethal game of cat-and-mouse against both an adversary who is more than his match, as he understands what makes Cesare tick, and the Mafia, who fears he might talk.