Led by DS Smith, the Broadstone police force suddenly find themselves in a manhunt for a disturbed and potentially dangerous man. All leave is cancelled and the boys are off and running.
A case of assault. A sick man at large. DS Smith, awakened from his slumbers by PC Pooley, is having none of it - but the experience will affect both him and the people of Broadwater.
When Smokey Haines returns to Broadstone after serving a two-year sentence for killing his baby, DS Smith must look for mitigation circumstances in the case - and sympathy of the town's citizens.
What is DS Smith to make of Raymond Flack, a new arrival in Broadstone - and why should local villain Jimmy Walker wish to leave the town?
Certain that there is a connection between a housebreaker who has eluded the police for months and the recent death of Ben Lawrence, DI Smith has trouble proving it. His only clue is Lawrence's 16-year-old daughter
The Criminal Law Act 1967, Section Two, sub-sections four and five states 'A constable may arrest, without warrant, any person whom he - with reasonable cause - suspects either to be guilty of an offence or about to commit an offence - but how should one apply the act, that's Smithy's problem?
DS Smith and his boys have to deal with all kinds of villainy - but the latest outbreak of 'crime' has them well and truly puzzled. It appears that a new gang of villains have entered their patch - seven young kids.
When the annual Broadstone fête finds police and the local hooligans on show before the whole town and Special Constable Alec Richards is put to a severe test, DS Smith and his boys lend a hand.
Neighbours can be a problem. With no love lost between Mrs Sheldon and the Grahams next door, what kind of petty irritation escalates into a crime which DS Smith and PC Pooley must investigate.
Why should a man systematically destroy his own home? Sergeant Ken Ridgeway is landed with the job of finding the answer. He soon finds that he's dealing with a very violent customer indeed.
