Inspector Littlejohn faces the most baffling case of his career when a killer in Cheshire strikes close to home in this acclaimed mystery series.

It's a shock what happens to Sergeant Cromwell, faithful friend and assistant to Superintendent Littlejohn. While attending his uncle's funeral in the pretty village of Rushton Inferior, he is shot in the head. Now, Littlejohn faces a distressing crisis-and a perplexing question: Why was Cromwell shot in Rushton, where he is quite unknown?

Littlejohn rushes north to the hospital where his sergeant is lying. There, he learns that the crime was committed with the smallest bullet the surgeon has ever seen. A shot from a pop gun, in fact. As the famous superintendent gets to work, he unravels a series of secrets and incidents that shed new light on Rushton-and his friend.