Chief Inspector Ranjit Singh and Sergeant Kate Farr's latest case drowns them into the dark waters of international politics. The scientist and gynaecologist Yasmin Bell's mother is an Iranian feminist not popular with the regime. Serena Shriver, an influential Republican Christian Nationalist whose son, Gideon, is working on a D Phil in Theology at Oxford, organises harassing demonstrations at Yasmin Bell's abortion clinic. The situation becomes complicated with the arrival of Professor Steve Darwin: well-known and respected academic, public intellectual and wit. He is also a palaeontologist and expert on evolution. To add to the mix, the media and the Secret Services arrive at the Thames Valley Police Headquarters in Kidlington.