the chase begins

The Thunderbird Motel, February 1977. J. J. Wedick and Jack Brennan—two fresh-faced, maverick FBI agents—were about to embark on one of their agency's first wire-wearing undercover missions. 

Their target? Charismatic, globetrotting con man Phil Kitzer, whom some called the world's greatest swindler. As they circled the globe together for the next eight months—bouncing to Miami, to Hawaii, to Tokyo and Frankfurt and New York City—Phil revealed the secrets behind his ingenious multimillion-dollar schemes. 

But as Jack and J.J. played the role of protégés and co-conspirators, meeting homicidal mobsters and desperate marks and a colorful network of fellow scammers, something even more shocking happened: They became Phil’s friends.

This is their story.