S.W.O.R.D. (an acronym for Secret World Organization for Retribution & Destruction) is a fictional criminal organization that exists as a creation within a creation. The organization appears in the novel The Saint and the Fiction Makers, written by Fleming Lee. It is credited to Leslie Charteris, who served in an editorial capacity and who created the title character of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint". The Fiction Makers was adapted from a two-part episode of the same title written by John Kruse from The Saint TV series.
As depicted in The Fiction Makers, S.W.O.R.D. is a diabolical criminal organization that pulls off ingenious heists. It is a creation of author "Amos Klein", the nom de plume of Joyce Darling, a character in the book. The plot deals with Simon Templar (alias the Saint) fighting to stop S.W.O.R.D. from becoming a real organization.
Templar is hired to bodyguard the reclusive "Amos Klein" on behalf of "his" publisher Finlay Hugoson only to discover "he" is really a clever, if eccentric, woman named Joyce Darling. When they are kidnapped by S.W.O.R.D., they assume Templar is "Amos Klein" and that Miss Darling is his secretary. Now they must help S.W.O.R.D. plan a heist on one of the most secure vaults in the world or die horribly at their hands.
Klein develops the following characters within S.W.O.R.D.:
Amos Klein's Rip Savage Novels: