Barlow's involvement in the security arrangements for a number of big open-air pop festivals appears to be routine. But when things go wrong at least one chief constable is glad he's there.
A prominent Jewish industrialist appears to have been kidnapped. Is it a hoax? Or is it the action of Arab guerillas - in which case what exactly do they want?
Even on holiday in Italy Barlow manages to combine business with pleasure - which accounts for his knowledge of and interest in Etruscan art.
Barlow is instructed to make discreet enquiries into the undesirable company being kept by a politician. In the process he meets up with an old adversary and decides, for once, to go it alone.
A series of apparently unconnected explosions reveals a web of intrigue. Barlow's enquiries touch a raw nerve in high places and he takes a big personal risk.
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A mysterious call from Special Branch leads Barlow into a cloak-and-dagger world which is, as Fenton warns him, ""shadowy, full of intrigue - and violent"".
The Home Office have received a number of complaints about an apparently harmless religious sect. Barlow's team investigate, with tragic results.