Readers first met Five Lowrey in The Thirteen, a story of life, love, secret society intrigue and death on Ohio University's campus in the Fifties.

Sphinxes follows Five from his graduation into the world of spies. Without a plan for the future, he enlists in the Army's Counterintelligence Corps to escape the draft.

Five is well prepared for basic training by his fraternity's Hell Week ordeal. After basic training, Five learns the counter-espionage trade at Fort Holabird, Maryland. His special skills as an artist gain him command attention and ultimate assignment to an elite CIC unit. In the process, he falls in love with post librarian Peggy Muldoon.

Five's first case takes him to France and to the Dordogne Valley with its medieval castles, prehistoric caves and quaint villages. With the help of Sureté agent Gigi Marchant, Five searches for a secret list of allied agents in Europe, terminates an assassin and helps find a missing CIC agent.

As in The Thirteen, Five's role in this Cold War era story is filled with colorful characters, beautiful young women, love affairs, and fascinating detail.