Early one morning Pitt is summoned to Long Spoon Lane where anarchists are plotting to attack. Bombs explode, destroying the homes of many poor people. He finds there is more to the terrorism than the destructive gestures of misguided idealists. The police are running a lucrative protection racket and clues suggest that Inspector Wetron of Bow Street is the mastermind. He is the shadowy leader of the Inner Circle and is using his influence with the Press to whip up fears of more attacks. Pitt must team up with his old enemy, Sir Charles Voisey, and with Charlotte and Great Aunt Vespasia, they must stop a conspiracy that will strike at the very heart of the British way of life...