Chief Inspector Pel has been kidnapped. Or is he being held for ransom, traded for the release of prisoners, or perhaps he has been murdered? He is, in any event, missing. To make matters worse, the press report the escape of the notorious Poltergeist from a high security prison. Just when things can't get more desperate, a fantastic robbery from the gunroom of Baron de Charnet's chateau takes place and a collection of diamonds is stolen from a high-street jeweller's safe.