London, summer of 1976. Faded and embittered rock star Lee Jones winks at a woman in a pub, and finally moves towards her. Years in the making, Jones's bizarre program of terror has begun. Meanwhile in France, wealthy Englishman Charles Underhill has good reason to be interested in the activities of Jones, soon known as the Winking Killer. With a past to hide and his future precarious, Underhill is determined to discover the Winker's identity. In this freestanding novel by the author of the Jim Stringer: Steam Detective series, a game of cat and mouse develops, with Jones leading Underhill and the police through Oxford, Paris, and Nice.