American readers, having faced a number of lean years deprived of the company of Chief Inspector Wilfred Dover, will rejoice (so to speak) in this reappearance of the “most idle and avaricious policeman in the United Kingdom (and, possibly, the world). But be warned: this case is something of a departure—and the very first to depart is none other than Dover himself.
The detective’s sudden disappearance from Scotland Yard one evening is followed by an ultimatum from a gang of kidnappers calling themselves the Claret Tippers. Demanded in exchange for the hostage are not only a stout ransom, but also the release of two prisoners—one turning out to be a multiple bigamist, the other a sharp-tongued nymphomaniacal shoplifter.
How Dover gets out of this one, though, is only the beginning. For just as the case is getting cold, the Claret Tippers strike again. And once more Dover is brought into the center of the action in a most unexpected way, one that will prove a trial not only to his hapless assistant, Sergeant MacGregor, but to all of Scotland Yard as well.