Alexander Kinloch, an artist, has worked out a good pattern for his life His home is a small bothy on a remote mountain in Scotland he paints on commission, from which he derives both pleasure and a decent income he lives alone and likes it One day Alexander returns home to find a group of strangers waiting for him After a scuffle he is left for dead with only the words 'Where is it?' ringing in his ears The days that follow contain more danger than he could ever have imagined