When Guy Fletcher protests at a feeble joke he overhears in a grotty pub, he finds himself headbutted and struck by an idea in quick succession Is it possible to trace a joke all the way back to its original source? His trail leads him to a humourless Hungarian dentist, a hyperactive troupe of Boy Scouts, a group of giggling grave-diggers and half a dozen undercover detectives And there are some pretty odd things happening along the way Guy is sure he's being followed by a sinister Englishman, Irishman and Scotsman He has an unfortunate accident on a banana skin And there's a fly in his soup Guy is on the verge of discovering something very unpleasant Making jokes is no laughing matter