The story is about the career, from a very early age, of a mild-mannered young man who likes, and excels at, all kinds of sporting combat. The thought of using his great talents anywhere outside a sporting arena is anathema to him, but various circumstances along the way combine to reveal a darker side to his nature, which is harnessed by the forces of law and order to h help them to achieve their objects, and he is not too fussy about how he goes about it. It is interesting to see how two separate romances affect the course of hie life.