The impossible has happened. Chief Inspector Reg Wexford has retired. He takes great pleasure in his books, but, for all the benefits of a more relaxed lifestyle, he misses being the law. But a chance meeting in a London street, with someone he had known briefly as a very young police constable, changes everything. Tom Ede is now a Detective Superintendent, and is very keen to recruit Wexford as an adviser on a difficult case. Wexford is intrigued and excited by the challenge, not really anticipating that this new investigative role will bring him into extreme physical danger.