 Barer wrote the book based upon the screenplay by Jonathan Hensleigh and Wesley Strick.Barer himself is a longtime fan of the Saint books and in 1993 had published a comprehensive study on the many literary, radio, and television stories featuring the character of Simon Templar.Barer uses as a framing sequence around his historical work then-current plans to launch a new film series based upon the Saint; these plans ultimately failed and the 1997 film resulted.