There is a saboteur hiding in plain sight at the publishing house of Wenham & Geraldine. An incendiary, and wildly libellous, passage has been slipped into a book somewhere between the final check and the printing press… a seemingly impossible task. Desperate to avoid a scandal, the partners call in Nigel Strangeways to uncover the meddler. Is it Stephen Protheroe, defunct poet, curmudgeon, and the last known person to access the manuscript? Or Mr Bates, the production manager recently forced reluctantly into retirement? Miss Millicent Miles, the romance novelist hoping to reinvigorate her ailing career with a steamy autobiography, or the now libellous author himself, General Thoresby? With so many suspects, Strangeways struggles to identify a motive, let alone a culprit. But when an employee is found slain in the office, it seems the case may be more personal than it first appeared…