The Vault

Chief Inspector Reg Wexford has retired. He and his wife, Dora, now divide their time between Kingsmarkham and a coach house in Hampstead, belonging to their actress daughter, Sheila. Wexford takes great pleasure in his books, but for all the benefits of a more relaxed lifestyle, he misses being the law. But a chance meeting in a London street changes everything.

Tom Ede is now a Detective Superintendent, and is very keen to recruit Wexford as an adviser on a difficult case. The bodies of two women and a man have been discovered in the old coal hole of an attractive house in St John's Wood. None carries identification. But the man's jacket pockets contain expensive jewelry. Wexford is intrigued and excited by the challenge.