"What happened when President de Gaulle expressed his wish to see French cars win the Monte Carlo Rally, the Le Mans 24 Hours and the Formula One World Championship?"

"This is the story of Matra, Alpine and Ligier as never told before. Little did the Author expect it to include a range of topics as diverse as the introduction of colour television, the fate of truck company Berliet, the consequences of wartime occupation, the rivalry between Simca, Citroen and Renault, illegal political party funding, the films of Jean-Luc Godard, unfathomable going-on at the FIA, the beginnings of the EEC, the unsavoury activities of the French security services, the influence of the ENA, the significance of the cars used by the gendarmerie, the dirigiste economy, ministerial corruption, unsolved murders and attempted assassinations...