A real mystery, Nikolaos Bourbaki or as the French called him, Nicolas Bourbakis, was perhaps the greatest mathematician of the twentieth century. Responsible for the birth of the "new mathematics" that prevailed in American and foreign educational systems, Bourbakis paved the way for the modern concept of mathematical proof and is credited with introducing precision to science. It can be said that no active mathematician in the world today has been unaffected by the impact of the innovative work of the "man" named Nikolaos Bourbaki.

This is the story of both Bourbakis himself and the world that created him. And it is the story of the joke of some intellectuals - because the author of dozens of recognized treatises and one of the most prominent mathematicians of his time - never existed!... Or did he?