H. R. F. Keating was born at St Leonards-on-Sea, Sussex, in 1926. He went to Merchant Taylors, leaving early to work in the engineering department of the BBC. After a period of service in the army, which he described as 'totally undistinguished', he went to Trinity College, Dublin, where he became a scholar in modern languages. He was also the crime books reviewer for The Times for fifteen years. His first novel about Inspector Ghote, The Perfect Murder, won the Gold Dagger of the Crime Writers Association and an Edgar Allen Poe Special Award.

DCI Phil Benholme has the reputation for being soft because he tries to see both sides of every story.
When Professor Unwala, Nobel Prize winner of 1945, is found dead, Benholme must find the right questions to ask. Was it a tragic accident? Was he a victim of a violent burglary? Or of a racist assault by Britforce troopers? Or did he know something about the collection of Celtic coins thought to be buried nearby?
When all leads point to a member of his own family, what will the 'soft cop' do to enforce the concept of innocent until proven guilty?