Hooded men have broken open the hold of a plane full of passengers at the local airport, and have stolen cargo described as perfume samples. Nothing else has been touched.

Pel is suspicious. If the cargo was really perfume samples, why was it described as looking like a sack of potatoes, and why was it so heavy? There seems to be no love lost between those affected and Pel begins to wonder whether past events might hold the key...

Moody, sharp-tongued and worrying constantly about his health, Inspector Pel ensures that no case goes unsolved, in these mordantly witty French mysteries.