Tim Simpson arranges a meeting with four strange men who claim to have an important painting by Wyndham Lewis, and he tells no one about the appointment. The heads of White's Bank, where Tim runs the Art Fund, aren't feeling too daring these days; tycoon and tabloid starlet Piers Hargreaves is promising major upheaval at the bank, and now is not the best time for Tim to chase after a painting that may only be an imitation of the master's work. What began as a bid for a valuable canvas soon becomes a search for a killer when two of the painting's owners are murdered, and Tim realizes that the purported Wyndham Lewis is vastly more important than he had originally thought. Meanwhile, with Piers Hargreaves's ambitious presence threatening the Art Fund, Tim's job security seems precarious. Even his marriage suffers - as he tracks his most perplexing criminal yet.