Aussie detective-sergeant Scobie Malone accepts a mission to fly to London to arrest Sir James Quentin, a high level Australian commissioner wanted down under for murder. The High commission is discovered to have been living under an assumed name for over 22 years. He changed his name after his wife was murdered and he was the chief suspect. But when Malone arrives, he finds that the amiable Quentin is not only the key in groundbreaking peace negotiations, but also the target of an assassin himself. Malone's superiors give him permission to extend his trip for a week to allow Quentin to finish negotiating the peace conference.
To even more complicate the situation Malone finds himself liking Quentin and doesn't believe that he really murdered his wife. But if he didn't then who did? The majority of the book is Malone trying to figure Quentin out while stopping several assassination attempts.
What drives the story is Malone's personal conflict that he has as a poor average Auggie living in the high end political life and trying to come to terms that while he'll always be a basic guy he does enjoy these finer things. There are several back stories of the people who are trying to assassinate Quentin and the ending was a complete surprise. This is set in current events of 1966's where the world is deciding the fate of the Vietnam insurgent.
I'm looking forward to reading others in this intriguing series.