Paul's Court is a quiet corner in the heart of the city: an oasis of peace and safety until the night when two of its inhabitants meet violent deaths. Old Willy Goppel, a German who specialises in making period doll's houses, is found hanging from a beam in his home; and fifteen year old Yvette Cole, with a wild reputation, is strangled and thrown half naked over the churchyard hedge. Chief Superintendent Wycliffe has the aid of a local detective, Kersey, but even in co operation they find this a difficult case to crack. Was Willy's death really a suicide? Or could it be that the two deaths are unconnected? As the investigation continues, they uncover a complex network of antagonisms in quiet Paul's Court.