"A disgraced college lecturer is found murdered on a disused railway line near his home. He has 5,000 euros in his pocket, yet in the four years since his dismissal has been living a poverty-stricken and hermit-like existence. There are many suspects, mostly at the college where he used to teach, but Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks, much to the chagrin of his boss, soon becomes fixated on Lady Veronica Chalmers, who appears to have links with...

"In the black of night, a raging fire consumes two barges moored side by side in an English canal. After a body is found on each boat, Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks realizes that this is no accidental fire, but a malicious case of arson. Evidence at the site indicates that the intended victim was an eccentric local artist who is wallowing in jail. Two days later, when another fire claims a third life, Banks and fellow detective Annie Cabbot...