Arab and Andy Blake are antique dealers.
Andy is, at least. Considering that he is as relaxed and easy going as anyone could imagine and probably not overly possessive of tremendous ambition, the antique world suits him just fine. Hustle and bustle hve little place in the serene world of hundred-year-old furniture and if sometimes competition for a particular piece might seem heated to some people, Andy knows that if a bid on a 120-yeard old snuff box did not pan out, there is always a chance for a 100-year-old humidor tomorrow.
The same love of serenity does not inflict his young bride, Arabella - Arab to her friends, for she is a pistol. Figuratively, of course, although since she is an award-winning sharpshooter, she almost is literally as well. Described as a petite blonde in her early 20s, Arab is a former debutante who likes action and excitement though her experience with such things were limited to her target shooting and playing in a young women's field hockey league. She was also a champion level equestrian who loved competing almost as much as she loved winning.
How these two people of such different personalities and likes ever ended up married is something not even they could explain. A friend of Andy invited him to watch a field hockey game and pointed out Arab as someone he hoped to marry someday. Instead, after meeting, Arab and Andy hit it off immediately and a month later, they were wed. Andy had already started an antique business and seriously doubted Arab would be the least bit interested. What they both discovered was her involvement, whether enthusiastic or just bemused, invariably led to the two of them getting into plenty of excitement and trouble.
It is almost always Arab's doing that gets them, inadvertently perhaps but most decidedly, mixed up with some very nasty people. German spies during the War and neo-Nazis after are but two types of no-goodniks that Arab's eye for things out of place and her inalterable determination to get to the truth brings out. Since these people are not pleased with her discoveries, they tend to shot at the pair and whenever possible, capture them.
While Arab is the instigator, it is Andy who suffers the brunt of the hostilities most definitely literally. The aging quickly man gets beaten up so many times he would have had the Urgent Care on speed dial if they had such things then. Luckily, Andy loves Arab too much to take the time to realize how dangerous she is for him. And not just when going up against bad guys. He came home once to an interesting smell in the kitchen and expected to hear she was making cookies or perhaps brownies but certainly not her own brand of gun-powder. He might have been stunned but after having been married to Arab, he could not honestly claim surprise.