‘The Toff’ had been playing rugby and is about to return to London when he discovers a woman in the back seat of his car. She was apparently determined to meet him. A curious story then emerged as to why Alice Hellier was frightened for the safety of her playboy cousin, and The Toff becomes caught up in a desperate financial plot.

Commander George Gideon, Scotland Yard's finest detective, is faced with making economies as well as fighting a serious crime wave. In London there are ruthless big-time thugs to be combatted. At the same time, an obsessed maniac is preying on little girls on the crowded beaches of an East Coast town. Gideon must sort out the chaos.

Commander George Gideon of Scotland Yard attended the CID Ball. He was aware of undercurrents in the room. Meanwhile, there was a murder, for which a bicycle with a loose-fitting mudguard held a clue. Also, a collapsed building had trapped many, and a man serving a sentence for a crime he hadn’t committed receives an unauthorised visitor.

The human race is experiencing a slow death as the population ages, but no babies are being born. Emissaries from outer space are the cause, but this is unknown, and they are attempting to prevent Dr. Palfrey discovering the truth. Once again, he is faced with the need to save the world, this time from a megalomaniac takeover by 'The Master'.

Each previous owner of ‘The Diamond of Tears’ had been tortured and met a murderous end. Jacob Bernstein was the fifth in line and was to become a victim, which resulted in John Mannering (aka ‘The Baron’) beginning an investigation which proved to be intriguing and dangerous. Why is ‘The Baron’ himself now in danger?

A quiet day is disturbed at Quinns, the shop in London’s Mayfair owned by John Mannering – known also as ‘The Baron’ and a former master cracksman. The phone rings. ‘They’re trying to kill me’ pleads the man on the line. Then laughter is heard, at first soft, but rising to a crescendo. Mannering must battle a plot to dominate and destroy him.