1955. Brighton. When Mirabelle Bevan is rescued from a fire at her home on the seafront she’s lucky to escape unharmed – but the blaze takes the life of her neighbour, Dougie Beaumont, a dashing and successful racing driver. It soon becomes clear that this was arson, raising questions about the young man’s death that Mirabelle can’t resist. She finds herself taking on the mysterious world of Fleet Street with its long lunches and dodgy deals as well as the glamorous motor racing world at Goodwood.
It gradually becomes clear that Dougie Beaumont’s life was not as above-board as it first seemed. He hid a myriad of secrets under the veneer of an international lifestyle. When a second shocking murder takes place, Mirabelle’s pursuit is frustrated first by Dougie’s well-connected family and then by her would-be lover Superintendent McGregor. With the help of her colleague at McGuigan & McGuigan Debt Recovery, Vesta, and some of her ex-intelligence service connections, Mirabelle discovers the dark secrets of the glamorous racing driver have ramifications far beyond the English coastline.