<DIV>Wycliffe's home overlooks a peaceful West Country estuary?but even in his own sanctuary, he can't get away from crime. While taking a morning walk along the shore, he comes upon a service revolver with one recently-fired chamber. In recent years, Wycliffe has often regretted the fact that his rank cuts him off from the early stages of an investigation?but here he's in from the very start. The case takes Wycliffe into the world of art theft and crooked dealers, to a suicide that might be a murder, and a search for a missing yacht. As the investigation intensifies, Wycliffe begins to wonder exactly where all the clues are leading.</DIV>