The chief trade commissioner for Canada is found brutally clubbed and stabbed to death in the Official Residence in London, England. Scotland Yard’s Detective Chief Inspector Stephen Hay is called in to investigate, while Royal Canadian Mounted Police inspector Liz Forsyth is dispatched from Ottawa. The suspects are many: the High Commissioner and his beautiful wife; the smarmy head of the political section; the charming military attaché; the high-strung Deputy High Commissioner; and a deeply troubled engagements secretary. After a second murder, the case takes a turn and the radical environmentalist Dr. Julian Cox becomes a suspect. is the first in a new mystery series featuring Forsyth and Hay. Paired up for the first time, the two investigators must overcome insecurities and suspicions, as they find themselves wading into the murky waters of the diplomatic community, and navigating through a melee of international conspiracy, nationalism, and murder.