[2] In 1976 it was made into a film of the same name, with a screenplay by Goldman, starring Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, and Roy Scheider and directed by John Schlesinger.

A former Nazi SS dentist at Auschwitz, Dr. Christian Szell, now residing in Paraguay, has been living on the proceeds of diamonds he extorted from prisoners in the concentration camp.

The sales and transfers of proceeds are facilitated by a secret US agency called The Division for whom Szell has provided information about other escaped Nazis.

Meanwhile, at Columbia University, Thomas Babington "Tom" Levy,[3] known by his brother as "Babe" (the first and middle names are a reference to Thomas Babington Macaulay,[4] and the nickname is a reference to Babe Ruth) is a postgraduate student in history and an aspiring marathon runner.

Unbeknownst to Babe, his elder brother by ten years (and best friend), Henry David "Hank" Levy (after Henry David Thoreau), known by Babe as "Doc", works in The Division under the name "Scylla" and has been helping to move Szell's diamonds as part of his duties.

Goldman says he was inspired by the idea of bringing a major Nazi to the biggest Jewish city in the world.

After reading articles about Nazis stealing golden teeth from prisoners and accumulating wealth, Goldman created a villain who came to the United States to get his diamonds.

"[8] Goldman stated that once he had the basic concept behind the story, he was "essentially mixing and matching, figuring out the surprises, hoping they would work".

[9] Evarts Ziegler, Goldman's agent, later recalled "going in we felt we had a home run in both fields, book and movie."

[11] A film adaptation starring Dustin Hoffman as Babe, Roy Scheider as Doc and Laurence Olivier as Szell was released in 1976.