Hugo Frencham, senior diplomat at the British High Commission in New Delhi, is found stabbed to death. George Sinclair, a security officer form the foreign office, is sent from London to sweep the ends under the carpet but soon discovers that matters refuse to be tidied up.
Against the exotic backdrops of Delhi and Ladakh, Sinclair discovers that Frencham was involved in some decidedly undiplomatic activities and it is only Haney Somers, a postgraduate student of Tibetan culture, who seems willing to help him with his investigations.