Story Grandville (graphic novel)

the book begins chase in streets of paris, known grandville, in british diplomat raymond leigh-otter (an otter) escapes group of assassins. action cuts leigh-otter s house, in found shot dead , local police inspecting body. detective inspector archie lebrock of scotland yard, large, heavily built badger, arrives assistant, detective roderick ratzi (a rat), , deduces leigh-otter in fact murdered, after lebrock notices leigh-otter holding gun in right paw when in fact left-handed. thus, go paris in order investigate.

after lebrock , ratzi check hotel, learn leigh-otter met female guest, coco (a attractive cat), dresser music hall star sarah blairow (a badger). after further investigation learn others have committed suicide, including coco. lebrock goes meet sarah, finds assassins have come kill her. lebrock gets rid of them , learns working organisation called knights of lyon . lebrock tells sarah go hiding while , ratzi try solve case.

while lebrock attempts find more information interviewing british ambassador, honourable citizen turtell (a tortoise), ratzi learns knights of lyon medieval religious cult possibly connected knights templar. visit robida tower ground 0 site, had been bombed british anarchists, causing tension between britain , france. 2 assassins approach lebrock, makes way turkish bath. lebrock stops them , learns assassins not know working for, knowing them knights . lebrock kills them.

ratzi investigates of suicides, of professor tope (a mole), pioneer of automaton engineering. after talking son, learn had assistant called snowy milou (white wire fox terrier). after searching tope s old lab, lebrock receives telephone call sarah asking him visit, because worried safety. seduces lebrock after arrives , 2 make love.

the next day, lebrock learns milou has become opium addict , drug dealer. ratzi uncovers photograph features tope , several other public figures: jean-marie lapin (a rabbit), far-right nationalist politician , prime minister came power following bombing of robida tower, promising war on terror ; madame krupp (a wombat), arms manufacturer , newspaper owner; archbishop of paris (a chimpanzee); reinhardt (a rhinoceros) minister war; , hyen (a hyena), chief of police , secret service. lebrock believes knights of lyon , goes investigate archbishop.

lebrock meets milou , learns him whereabouts of archbishop. lebrock , ratzi capture archbishop, tie him chair , threaten kill him setting fire him. lebrock deduces attack on robida tower organised archbishop , other knights (with of tope), used british anarchists scapegoats. under pressure, archbishop tells them did because believed protect french society decadency , atheism uniting them against common enemy. attempt unite people having war in french indo-china had failed, knights began spread stories of british super-bomb aimed @ paris. final plan launch skyship krupp s estate , fly paris opera house, thousands watching trans-empire song contest. afterwards, lebrock sets archbishop on fire, killing him. outside, lebrock tells ratzi believes leigh-otter not diplomat, member of british secret service trying stop knights plan.

as lebrock , ratzi arrive @ hotel, receive message sarah saying in danger. 2 arrive @ hideout find being held captive assassins. during shoot-out, sarah killed , ratzi badly injured. following morning, lebrock asks human bellboy @ hotel collect things him - things use make bombs. lebrock makes way krupp estate, knights preparing attack on opera house. lebrock sets off bombs , shoots krupp, hyen, lapin , reinhardt. krupp s dying words, lebrock, knights loyal emperor. realises not knights of lyons , knights of lion , lion being emperor napoleon xii, head of state. lebrock hit on head chair reinhardt, not dead injured. reinhardt makes way skyship , prepares leave. lebrock follows him , grabs hold of skyship takes off. not seeing lebrock, reinhardt sets skyship s course , prepares jump out. opens door, lebrock jumps in. reinhardt charges @ him, falls out of door. falls, lebrock shoots him dead. lebrock changes skyship s course, crashing napoleon s palace.

the next day public learns truth knights , attack on robida tower, wondering if revolution might happen following news. lebrock meets again ratzi in hospital.