"I'm afraid you may have to resign yourself to the fact that your husband is getting mixed up with that gang of thugs in Whitehall again,"

The phone call was interrupted! Who could have wanted viciously to strangle kindly Dr. Martin to death while he was on the line with his old friend Antony Maitland?

According to the police, guilt lies with Dr. Martin's impecunious scapegrace cousin Gerry, who was the good doctor's heir. Anthony Maitland and his Uncle Nick are tasked with providing hapless Gerry with some sort of credible defense. Along the way Antony to his horror begins to suspect that an implacable old enemy from his wartime past has his malign hand in the whole affair. It seems that more is involved with Dr. Martin's death than first meets the eye! Antony finds himself pressed into working surreptitiously with the U.K.'s Secret Intelligence Service, which puts him not only in into conflict with Scotland Yard but in peril of his life.

This gripping courtroom drama from 1963 features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

"Subtle and suspenseful with deft characterizations, this is superior fare, written with thought and elegance," Newsday