From 1938 to 1969 crime novelist and detective Paul Temple and his Fleet Street journalist wife Steve solved case after case in one of BBC radio's most popular serials. They inhabit a sophisticated, well-dressed world of chilled cocktails and fast cars, where the women are chic and the men still wear cravats.
And where Sir Graham Forbes of Scotland Yard always needs Paul's help with a tricky case. Just as Paul and Steve are about to go on holiday, Wilfrid Stirling visits with a plea. His daughter Brenda was recently murdered, her body dumped on a bomb site.
Her boyfriend Howard Gilbert, seen walking away from the site, has been convicted of the murder and sentenced to hang, but Brenda's father feels sure he didn't do it.
In spite of all the evidence against Gilbert, Mr Stirling asks Paul to clear his name and discover the real murderer. If he's to prevent an unjust hanging, Paul has just a week in which to discover the truth. Can he solve the case in time?