Wychshire Deputy Chief Constable, Bobby Owen, has been deputized by the Watch Committee to look into traffic control — due to political pressure within the police force — but before he knows it those same politics are suggesting his promotion to Deputy Assistant Commissioner at Scotland Yard ... and would he mind popping down to the village of Toad-in-Hole to look into the murder of a local businessman, Itter Bain?

Arriving on the scene, Bobby has the challenge of not just sorting out the witnesses and the clues connected with the crime, but of dealing with pressures from Scotland Yard, the local dignitary, Lord Adour, and  the Press — something to do with a local growth in Bolshevism.., But what about Lord Adour’s daughter, Helen? She was apparently near the crime scene at the time of the murder, and she must be interviewed by Bobby.

Helen Adour is the local beauty around whom men swoon, yet pinning her down proves an equal challenge to finding the murderer of Itter Bain — and perhaps other victims.

This is the 23rd novel in the Bobby Owen series.