Part of Series
As detective Paul Temple turns his hand to writing plays, his leading lady Iris Archer pulls out shortly before the play is due to open and declares that she is heading for France. However, shortly after her disappearance Paul Temple receives a guest at his Scottish holiday home – none other than that of Iris Archer. As the plot thickens a mysterious letter is passed on to Paul Temple by a young man, with explicit instructions to deliver it to John Richmond. Meanwhile, what does the enigmatic Doctor Steiner have to do with events? And more importantly, who is the masked leader operating under the codename Z4? It is up to Paul Temple to unravel the case.
Author
Francis Henry Durbridge was an English playwright and author born in Hull. In 1938, he created the character Paul Temple for the BBC radio serial Send for Paul Temple. A crime novelist and detective, the gentlemanly Temple solved numerous crimes with the help of Steve Trent, a Fleet Street journalist who later became his wife. The character proved enormously popular and appeared in 16 radio serials and later spawned a 64-part big-budget television series (1969-71) and radio productions, as well as a number of comic strips, four feature films and various foreign radio productions. Francis Durbridge also had a successful career as a writer for the stage and screen. His most successful play, Suddenly at Home, ran in London’s West End for over a year.
