Peter Trumper, the posing, arrogant charlatan who styles himself ‘Mister French,’ has been found dead, his body lying in a graveyard. If it was murder, then there are plenty of suspects: in his characteristically high-handed way he’s belittled, insulted or offended nearly everybody he met. But who was so tormented by him as to seek retribution?

Trumper’s former colleague, the part-time schoolteacher and Ph.D. student Carol Jones, tries to unlock the secret of his death. At the same time, another question gnaws at her: whilst curiosity demands to know who committed the murder, should the killer really have to face justice? After all, as her hero Inspector Maigret once said, “The criminal is often less guilty than his victim.”