Detective Inspector Charlie Priest's day hasn't started well. Late for the first time in twenty years, thanks to a hangover, he's got a grisly workload to face. Hartley Goodrich has been found dead in his armchair, right beside the flowerpot that caused the gaping gash to his head. There's little doubt that this was murder, and when Charlie discovers that Hartley's financial advice had lost his clients a small fortune, there's no shortage of suspects either. But is the case all it seems?