New Scotland Yard

Violence flares up when a student protest meets a counter-demonstration. A young protestor is killed by a blow to the head. The nearest to the body is a mounted Officer Tyrell. DCS John Kingdom now faces a difficult case, where strong evidence accumulates against a brother policeman.

A retired bank manager is murdered in a seemingly motiveless killing. Then, a second murder is committed, and Kingdom, together with his journalist brother-in-law Harry Carson, discovers a possible motive which might also pose a threat to Kingdom's life.

A postman is found murdered by his wife, his body surrounded by Nazi emblems and insignia; it looks like a murder committed by a fanatical ex-Nazi hunter. Kingdom persuades a reporter to splash the story. It has the required effect, and stirs up an ugly situation.

When a woman is found dead on a canal towpath, Kingdom finds himself investigating the third of a series of murders. All the victims are attractive middle-aged women and, despite Inspectors Ward's scepticism, Kingdom becomes obsessed with his theory the murderer is a young man. As the case continues, Ward becomes more and more convinced that Kingdom is on the wrong track.

As he investigates two murders, Kingdom discovers that both victims had recently returned from abroad, and both were shot by the same gun. When a third shooting takes place, his research reveals they are linked.

Kingdom is faced with a bizarre and perplexing case when a man calls the police to report that he has killed his wife — by a practical joke.