The Body in the Thames

London swelters in a heatwave in the summer of 1664, and in the corridors of power the temperature is equally high as an outbreak of war with the Dutch threatens to become reality.

In the dilapidated surroundings of the Savoy Palace, a delegation from the government in the Netherlands is gathered in a last ditch attempt to secure peace between the two countries. Thomas Chaloner, active in Holland during Cromwell's time, knows many of the delegates, including the sister of his late wife. He is horrified at the violent aggression and hatred shown to the Dutch by ordinary Londoners, but is more worried by the dismissive attitude with which they are greeted by the King's ministers and officials. He has experienced the futilities of war at first hand and has no wish to witness another.

Then the body of his former brother-in-law, Willem Hanse, is found in the Thames, and Chaloner discovers the dead man has left enigmatic clues as to a motive for his murder. These may be linked to a plot to steal the crown jewels, or perhaps to a conspiracy to ensure that no peace is secured between the two nations. Whichever it proves to be, Chaloner knows he has very little time to decipher the pointers left to him.

As he quarters the city in search of the truth he realises that there are men so desperate to stop him that they are prepared to attack anyone who is close to him.