The unflappable Inspector George Gently has become a household name through the hit BBC TV series starring Martin Shaw. These are the original books on which the TV series was based, although the George Gently in Alan Hunter's whodunits is somewhat different to his TV counterpart. He is more calculating, more analytical, and his investigations are even more enthralling.

In this title:

Following the death of a young musician, George Gently is assigned to the case, mainly because his boss is such a fan of the composer, Walter Hozeley. Things look bad for Hozeley when details emerge of a vicious argument between the composer and the murdered clarinetist, Terence Virtue, who was also Hozeley's lover.

The other musicians who were present at the rehearsal where the quarrel took place soon fall under suspicion when Gently begins to realise that Hozeley may not have been the only one who wanted Virtue dead. As the musicians prepare for a special performance, Gently's investigation builds to a crescendo and the killer is set to take his final bow.