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 . . .