Policemen Harpur and Iles get mixed up in the criminal world of fine
art dealing
Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur feels a sort of warmth
towards Jack Lamb, a brilliantly prosperous but profoundly dodgy fine
arts dealer. Lamb is the greatest informant Harpur has ever dealt with -
might be the greatest informant any police officer has ever dealt with -
and although Jack ended this arrangement some time ago, Harpur still
feels indebted to him.
Lamb's posh manor house is stuffed with expensive paintings, ripe for
the pinching . . . and small-time thief George Dinnick and his crew
intend to relieve him of a few. But their plans are complicated by local
big-time crook Ralph Ember, who is on the lookout for some art to
elevate his gentleman's club, The Monty; and who else would he visit to
procure this art but Jack Lamb? Add to the mix odd-job man and
stolen-art procurer Basil Gordon Loam - aka Enzyme - who Harpur and Iles
would very much like to see locked up, and things start to get
complicated indeed.