When Chief Inspector Pel accepts a drinks invitation at the house of a big shot, Deputy Claude Barclay, he doesnt realise how compromised he will become by his acceptance.

Shortly afterwards, Barclay is kidnapped; the partially decomposed body of a retired soldier is discovered in a wood, and a series of art forgeries need investigating. Pel must tie all three together and solve a scandal which has become the talk of France.

Moody, sharp-tongued and worrying constantly about his health, Inspector Pel ensures that no case goes unsolved, in these mordantly witty French mysteries.