In one of the prosperous neighborhoods of London, the body of a man hit by a car was discovered. No documents or money were found on him; the only evidence was an expensive gold watch in his vest pocket. Around the same time, the waves washed up the body of another man, also without money or documents, at a lighthouse on the Sussex coast. Investigating the case, Scotland Yard inspector Ian Rutledge comes across a well-known company founded by two respectable families, and soon discovers a certain criminal plot. But he must be very careful, because death is on his heels...