Another man accused of murder, another family member going to an amateur detective to prove his innocence. The classics don’t wear, do they? This time it is Stewart Ferrers accused of murdering local GP Dr. Benson late at night in his own home, and Stewart’s brother Peter who goes to ex-Sergeant Wm. Beef, now set up as a private enquiry agent, in the hope that evidence can be uncovered to cast doubt on the conviction. And along for the ride is Beef’s faithful-if-frustrated chronicler Townsend (now called Lionel despite calling himself Stuart at the end of the previous novel…) who hopes that something interesting might come of this to put him on equal footing with other novelists who relate the cases of their famous detectives.