A convict has a vendetta against Patrick Dawlish—and he's just been set free, in this gripping British Golden Age mystery from the Edgar Award–winning author.

Detective Patrick Dawlish has made a lot of enemies putting men behind bars, but none more dangerous than Maurice Gorman, a conman whose son died while being pursued by Dawlish. At his sentencing, Gorman vowed to kill Dawlish and has talked of nothing else for all seven years of his imprisonment—which has just ended.

Immediately, the now-retired Dawlish is besieged by a violent hate campaign starting with mocking phone calls, car bombs, and the abduction of his friend Ted's wife. As events spiral out of control, an even more devastating possibility arises: if Gorman is not behind the attacks, then someone else is. And that person—hiding behind the ultimate suspect—may be even harder to stop . . .