This book is an absorbing blend of archaeological mystery and modern-day murder from the ever-popular Roy Lewis. The sudden death of the Director of the Museums Department, Simon Brent-Ellis, throws the Department into greater than usual turmoil. The atmosphere becomes even more poisonous when the deeply unpopular Steve O'Hara is put on the shortlist to replace Brent-Ellis. When O'Hara's body is found on a golf course with his skull crushed, Arnold Landon's old sparring partner, DCI Culpepper, arrives to investigate and, once again, the hapless archaeologist is plunged into a storm of egos, ambitions and warped passions before the murderer is eventually unmasked.