Arriving at a French carpet factory near the Belgian border, where he is to have discussions with the firm's technical expert as part of a proposed European merger, Tim Simpson of White's Bank finds the factory destroyed by fire and his prospective contact with it Tim faces a tough assignment in locations ranging from Lancashire mills to the inside of French and Belgian police stations, where he is held on a murder charge. It needs all of his penchant for art-biography, the help of his art-expert wife Sue, his detective skill, and his rugby instincts to tackle this case.