Little did Anthony Cade suspect that a simple errand to deliver a manuscript on behalf of a friend would drop him right in the middle of an international conspiracy. Why were Count Stylptich's memoirs so important? And what was "King Victor" really after? Murder, blackmail, stolen letters, and a fabulous missing jewel - all threads lead to Chimneys, one of England's historic country house estates, and a startling denouement under the not always co-operative...

"I like a good detective story, but they begin in the wrong place! They begin with the murder. But the murder is the end. The story begins long before that." So remarks esteemed criminologist Mr. Treves. Truer words have never been spoken, for a psychopathic killer has insinuated himself , with cunning manipulation, into a quiet village on the river Tern. But who is his intended victim? What are his unfathomable motives? And how and when will he reach...