A visiting professor from Germany has been found dead of unnatural causes at a natural history museum in London, where he cut a controversial figure. Is his demise a result of acute rivalries within the academic community? Or is it related to his background in Germany? Inspector George Mason, of Scotland Yard Special Branch, is assigned to solve this crime, which has major repercussions in official circles in England, Germany and France. Mason is ably assisted in his investigations by Detective Sergeant Alison Aubrey, as by detectives seconded from other police forces in Britain. His enquiries take him to parts of rural England, France, Switzerland and Germany, accurately portrayed by an author who spent several years teaching and traveling in Europe.