Detective Chief Inspector Wilfred Dover is the most idle and avaricious hero in all of crime fiction. Why should he even be bothered to solve the case?
It seemed that everyone in the bleak little village of Thornwich had been honoured with the most obscene poison pen letters imaginable. And they showed no signs of letting up. So off goes Chief Inspector Dover of Scotland Yard, his unfortunate young colleague MacGregor in tow, to track down the source.
Not-so-comfortably ensconced in the miserable lodgings of the Jolly Sailor, Dover's easy confidence is shaken when he suddenly has to deal with two suicides - one attempted, the other all-too-successful - black-market babies, and various bowel disorders.
When the second suicide begins to look more like murder, however, it is only a matter of time before Dover comes face-to-face with a most determined, and totally unlikely killer.