The murder of a convict on the night of his release brings Littlejohn to the silent marshes of the Isle of Man in this thrilling British mystery novel.

A deckhand and petty criminal, Joss Varran was set to return home after a year in jail. Instead, he's found dead in a ditch not far from his sister's cottage. While Varran was never well liked, it's a mystery why anyone would bother to kill him . . .

Facing a dead end, Inspector Knell of the Manx police calls in his friend from Scotland Yard, Chief Superintendent Littlejohn. Together they find that Varran was up to no good while working on a container ship between Ramsey and Preston. It seems the dockhand may have gotten in over his head . . . so much so that prison would seem like a safe place to hide . . .

Now the two investigators chase a trail of clues to find those responsible for Varran's death . . . and prevent others from meeting the same fate.