Commissaire Pel hasn't been promoted which is disappointing; then he meets the new Chief of Police and the implications suddenly look disastrous... However, an interfering boss is the least of Pel's worries. The supermarket at Talant has been broken into again; the night watchman attacked, his dog killed, and all that's missing are a couple of bags of groceries.

Then someone leaves a letter bomb at the bank. With La Division Nationale Anti-Terroriste now involved, Pel is near the end of his tether. He knows that he has to outwit the terrorists before any more lives are lost.

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