Tim Simpson does not relish the thought of having to give a speech at a small art gallery in the tiny village of Highton under the pretext of helping out the `boss's mate'. When he sees off an attack on Mr Goodston, his bookseller, by a couple of heavies, his curiosity is aroused. It seems they were not after money at all. Further oddities continue to happen in quick suc- cession: the murder of a researcher and the theft of several paintings, leading Tim to the conclusion that something big is happening, but what is the connection? John Malcolm's popular mystery solver Tim Simpson is back on the case, and this time he's got a violent cocktail of money, murder, literature and art to traverse if he is to make the connection and discover the terrible truth.