Inspector Wickfield and Sergeant Hewitt find themselves caught up in a saga of murder, illicit money-making and racist thuggery. A young girl's body is found one morning on the banks of a canal. With help from a clairvoyant, the trail leads the investigating officers to London, and thence to Reading and Augsburg. They find themselves mixing with butchers, decorators, fashion retailers, dentists and the leisured rich, bargees, ex-cons and bilingual administrators, but the mythical and mysterious Zedler, who seems to hold all the threads in his hands, eludes them. Is he the moving force behind the British League, a right-wing political movement whose aim is to keep foreigners out of Britain? Is he the brains behind the counterfeiting operations? Is he the murderer? Wickfield finds out with a little help from his wife, who fortunately has a better insight into Robinson Crusoe than he does! As always with Julius Falconer, you, the reader, are given all the information available to the detective officers, and the vital clue is there for you to spot - if you are up to it! Take your time, enjoy the many detours and red herrings, the literary allusions, the religious and philosophical byways, the silver-smooth English - and keep your eye on the ball if you can! You are guaranteed a stimulating read.