No one suspects that the brutal murder of small-time gambler "Flutter" Byers in a seedy English pub has anything to do with a border dispute between two newly formed African nations. At least not until Inspector Henry Tibbett discovers that "Flutter" worked briefly in the kitchen of the hotel where a member of the commission empowered to resolve the dispute was found dead. From England to the Netherlands and into the rural waterways of the picturesque countryside, Henry and Emmy Tibbett pursue a killer who seeks intent on creating a potentially explosive international situation.

Henry Tibbett, Chief Superintendent of Scotland Yard, has for years delighted those who love a classic British detective story. A modest, self-effacing man, Tibbett possesses an almost uncanny "nose" for crime, and those who know him well realize that his gentlemanly demeanor masks a shrewd mind and a fearless spirit. When he teams up with his wife, Emmy, a cheerful but formidable woman, there isn't a criminal anywhere who can rest secure.