Bond is supported in his endeavours by Vesper Lynd, a member of his own service, as well as Felix Leiter of the CIA and René Mathis of the French Deuxième Bureau.

The story concerns the British secret agent James Bond, gambling at the casino in Royale-les-Eaux to try and bankrupt Le Chiffre, the treasurer of a French union and a member of the Russian secret service. Published in 1953, it is the first James Bond book, and it paved the way for a further eleven novels and two short story collections by Fleming, followed by numerous continuation Bond novels by other authors. Casino Royale is the first novel by the British author Ian Fleming.