The man who lies bleeding to death in a London brickyard is no ordinary
drifter but a secret informant prepared to divulge details of a
potentially devastating international plot against the British
government. Special Branch officer Thomas Pitt, hastening to rendezvous
with him, arrives a second too late, preceded by a knife-wielding
assassin. As the mortally wounded man's life slips away, so too does the
information Pitt desperately needs. The killer in turn flees on an
erratic course that leads Pitt in wild pursuit, from London's
cobblestone streets to picturesque St. Malo on the French coast.
Meanwhile, Pitt's supervisor, the formidable Victor Narraway, finds
himself accused of embezzling government funds. With Pitt incommunicado
in France, Narraway turns to Pitt's clever wife, Charlotte, for help.
The man who badmouthed Narraway and ruined his career with innuendo can
be found in Ireland -- so Charlotte agrees to pose as Narraway's sister
and accompany him to Dublin to investigate. But unknown to Pitt and
Narraway, a shadowy plotter is setting a trap that, once sprung, could
destroy not just reputations but the British empire itself.