The London detective returns to see a criminal kingpin put behind bars-only to discover that his nefarious deeds are from over. Northumberland's usually unflappable Det. Chief Inspector Percy Peach has suddenly found himself on the anxious side. It's not that the bust didn't go as planned. The raid on the sprawling country manor of a drug baron rounded up all the usual suspects. But only hours later, a converted stable on the grounds goes up in flames. In the ashes is the charred body of unassuming carpenter, Neil Cartwright. Peach can't help but think the fire is too well-timed and highly suspicious. So does his fiancée, Det. Sergeant Lucy Blake. But whom to question? All that's left is the butler, the gardener, the cook, and an assortment of cagey housekeepers. Yet as each goes mum, Peach realizes that they're less a staff than a gang-and the sordid secrets of the estate didn't end with the arrest of their boss. In fact, they're only beginning to surface. And they're nastier-and more dangerous-than Peach and Blake can imagine.