The Napoleon Connection is an adventure mystery set in the French Quarter of present-day New Orleans. Hired by one of that city's more prominent denizens, young, accomplished art historian Michael Bennington must discover the whereabouts of a priceless artifact--believed to be a rare jewel--curiously missing from the city's famed Cabildo historical museum. Bennington dives into the assignment with an uncanny passion--his specialty is 19th century jewels--and ends up taking a virtual roller coaster ride through the city's fascinating historical past, uncovers both real and purported--if not positively bizarre--local legends, descends into the city's sexually-alternative underground and encounters a quasi-religious, homoerotic Roman Catholic cult. The first installment in The Jewel Trilogy, The Napoleon Connection is an introduction into the entertaining exploits of the likable Bennington character.