Paris, 1920. Young clerk Broughton is inspecting goods at the Insular and Continental Steam Navigation Company when he discovers a cask that should hold linseed oil but instead contains a fortune in banknotes and a severed human hand. What begins as a grotesque curiosity spirals into a murder investigation that stretches from the Parisian docks to the railways of Northern France. Crofts, one of the Golden Age's most meticulous puzzle-makers, constructs an alibi puzzle of considerable cunning: someone at this shipping firm is a murderer, and every employee seems to have something to hide. As Inspector James of Scotland Yard methodically dismantles alibis and reconstructs timelines, Broughton finds himself torn between his desire for truth and the creeping suspicion that his colleagues are not what they seem. For fans of Sayers and Christie, this novel rewards patient readers with its intricate plotting and authentic period atmosphere.
