A series of ugly killings has shattered the orderly workings of the Hampstead police station. And truth be told, they have shattered the confidence of the lead investigator on the case, who has long taken pride in his old-school "copper's nose." When yet another body turns up, he's forced to give way to a new chief with fancy new detecting techniques. But when those, too, prove unequal to the task, the police are stymied. So they reach back to the past, invoking the skills of one of the great Gentleman Sleuths. Is this nutty? No doubt. But Lord Peter Wimsey always got his man.