Based on his own experiences, Georges Simenon tells of a period in his youth when he was befriended by three men. Unbeknownst to him, these three would go on to commit a series of wholly reprehensible crimes. Yet it was only by chance that these travesties inspired Simenon to become a crime writer, rather than tread the path of evil himself. One of the 20th century's most prolific and widely read authors, Georges Simenon (1903–1989) is widely recognized as one of the most skillful and literate writers of detective fiction, famed for his Commissaire Maigret novels.