Inspector Angel and his team are looking for an antiques thief and murderer who tears out the tongue of anyone he fears might give him away. The Inspector also believes the murderer is walking in the footsteps of Herman Lamm, an infamous villain of a century earlier. The suspects are a disparate trio. The first is a conman who is always hovering near an antique gold statue; the second, Mr Van Hassain, is a diplomat and businessman, and the third is a rich inventor's beautiful wife. The only thing that seemingly links the suspects is that they are all interested in acquiring antique gold snuffboxes ... it's not much to go on but Inspector Angel is determined to catch the killer. This is the 16th in the highly successful Inspector Angel series