Months after the end of World War II a murderer is on the loose in the small town of Bad Quellenberg, Austria. Major Mark Hanlon of the Allied Occupation Force must hunt him down and prevent more death and destruction.

Winter 1945. The Second World War is over, but it is a time of armistice, not peace. Austria is grieving its defeat and the loss of a generation of men; it is a land without leaders. To men like Major Mark Hanlon, Occupation Commander of the alpine town of Bad Quellenberg, falls the task of destroying the legacy of the Nazis once and for all.

When his driver is murdered by an Austrian soldier, Hanlon is determined to bring the man to justice. But investigating the crime proves difficult in a community where nearly everyone has something to hide.

Morris West's fast-moving story brilliantly evokes the atmosphere of occupation in a traumatised postwar Europe.

'Enormously readable, and Morris West contrives to give both pace and suspense.' The Times Literary Supplement

'A successful blending of action and insight.' The Scotsman