With his girlfriend Arabella away in America, antique toy dealer Peter Marklin has been hoping to spend a quiet winter in his toy shop. But when a local private detective disappears, Marklin finds himself up to his neck in trouble again. He discovers that the missing man had made quite a few enemies in his work. There's a crooked boat owner, a bizarre, Doberman-equipped animal rights activist, the surly headmaster of a too-progressive private school; and the private eye's own girlfriend, who seems to know more than she's telling. Helped by his exasperating old friend Gus Tribble, Marklin unravels a shocking story of greed, corruption, strange practices, and vain hopes.