When Rowland Sinclair offers to fly Czech novelist and peace advocate Egon Kisch to Melbourne to kick off a speaking tour, he has no clue that the government wants to prevent Kisch from stepping foot on Australian soil. Following Give the Devil His Due, this 8th caper set in Australia between the wars gets complicated when a known Communist is murdered on the Parliament House steps, and a fascist group is also intent on silencing Kisch. As if that weren't enough, Rowland reconnects with his first love, and when the two are photographed in flagrante delicto by reporters, Rowland makes her an unexpected proposal.