London, 1972. Albert Campion's nephew Christopher, an aspiring public relations guru, needs his uncle's help with a client. Construction magnate Sir Lachlan McIntyre enjoyed a meteoric rise after the Second World War and is in line for a life peerage, but his reputation is in jeopardy as he becomes the prime suspect for a murder.

Journalist David Duffy was curiously more interested in McIntyre's youthful years before the war than his rags-to-riches story. Not long after the pair exchanged verbal blows, Duffy was shot dead in his car close to the M1 motorway and McIntyre's home. Why was Campion's name included on a list discovered in Duffy's notebook under the heading 1932? What happened forty years ago, and could it be linked to Duffy's death? Campion must dig deep into his memory to get to the bottom of the mystery, but can he prove McIntyre's innocence, or is he just digging himself into trouble?