When Arthur Combs is found murdered, the life choked out of him by a rope around his neck and a knee between his shoulder-blades, the method is obvious. The motive is far less evident. As an English expatriate retiree in Dublin, the decrepit seventy-three year old Combs lived a solitary existence with few friends, but no enemies. Or so it seems when Sergeant Minogue is assigned to the Combs case. As the investigation gains momentum, however, it becomes clear that this 'terrible ordinary man' is of extraordinary importance to British Intelligence. London's MI5 Security Service is terrified about secrets Combs knew and threatened to reveal, secrets that could spark a major scandal and derail top-level talks between Britain and Ireland. When MI5 tries to put a lid on the Combs affair, they underestimate the tenacity of the unorthodox but brilliant Minogue. Even if it means going up against the Prime Minister, Minogue is determined to discover what Britain's spy masters are doing in Dublin.