Another case for DCI Ian Forsyth. An Edinburgh wine and spirits merchant is found dead in a junk yard when he should have been on a sleeper train to London. Supposed regular trips to London appear to have been an excuse to visit a mistress. When it is found that all is not well in the business and the murders of a sleazy private detective and one of the merchant's sons follow, it requires all Forsyth's ingenuity to solve the mystery by means of logical deduction. The story is told by Forsyth's long-suffering sergeant, Alistair MacRae