The first instalment in the Frank Merlin series. Previously published as Prince's Gate.

When a brilliant emigré scientist is killed by a hit-and-run driver and the body of an American embassy is washed up in the Thames, DCI Frank Merlin and his team are called to investigate.

Merlin's investigations soon ruffle feathers at the Foreign Office - the American ambassador, Joseph Kennedy, is a well-known supporter of appeasement, and has gained many powerful and influential friends in the pursuit of a negotiated peace settlement with Hitler.

The death of yet another embassy employee leads Merlin deep into the seedier quarters of wartime London, until his investigations are hampered by interfering superiors fearful of disrupting international relations. As Merlin is drawn into a web of secrets, what will the truth cost him - and Britain?