During a police conference in Geneva, a detective assigned to the personal safety of the British Minister of Security is murdered. His body is found in a car that has been left in a rose garden. The car in question happened to be hired by none other than Superintendent Littlejohn. Littlejohn is assigned to the case in London and, for once, finds that he isn't short of motive. Littlejohn is determined to crack this case before it becomes an international crisis and sets off on a trail that leads him through a seedy hotel in Geneva, a mental clinic in the mountains, and an airport in London. Will he manage to head off disaster or is this case simply too big for Littlejohn?