Most people would regard winning a fortune on the football pools as a stroke of very good luck - but for three particular people, their big win is anything but lucky. For after receiving their presentation cheques from the pools company, each of them disappears mysteriously, their cheques uncashed. Some time later they are all found dead - victims of strangulation. Are these murders the work of a religious maniac who violently disapproves of gambling? Superintendent Budd has good cause to wonder, as he tackles one of his most baffling cases.