The Ballad of a True Thug

The Ballad of a True Thug follows an unnamed 28-year-old French thief on a relentless quest for vengeance across 1990s Europe.

Orphaned young and raised by a struggling single mother in Paris, the protagonist witnessed her slow destruction at the hands of debt collectors and indifferent employers. Her death left him with nothing but rage and a singular purpose: revenge against those who destroyed her life.

Now based in Amsterdam, he embarks on a series of increasingly audacious heists across Europe — from London auction houses to Roman mansions, from Canadian vineyards to Parisian museums, and eventually to Las Vegas casinos and Dutch banks. Each robbery is both a step toward his ultimate goal and a statement to the criminal underworld: a new legend is rising.

But he's not the only one making headlines. A mysterious thief known as LeMark operates in the shadows, pulling off impossible heists without leaving a trace. The press can't get enough of this phantom burglar, and the unnamed protagonist finds himself in an unspoken rivalry with this ghost who steals without violence.

What begins as a personal mission of vengeance evolves into something more — a journey through the dark underbelly of 1990s Europe, where loyalty is tested, identities blur, and the line between friend and foe becomes dangerously thin. Armed with nothing but determination, a knife, and eventually a growing arsenal of weapons, he cuts through guards, security systems, and anyone standing in his way. He doesn't talk much. He doesn't need to. His actions speak louder than words ever could.

This is his ballad. This is the story of a true thug.