Fifty people squashed into a stinking public air-raid shelter all night - babies screaming, old ladies crying, no beds, not even a light to see by. When the all - clear siren sounds, people disperse to home and work. But one man remains. He's Paul Ramsey, a young teacher, and he's dead - stabbed through the heart. DI Jago quickly establishes that the victim was a pacifist, desperate to avoid military service. Why, then, was he carrying a loaded revolver in his pocket? Did he have enemies? Was he intent on harming someone - or even himself? Jago discovers that Paul isn't the only pacifist whose convictions have been challenged. For some, anger and violence lie just below the surface. And despite Ramsey's moral stance, it seems there were dark shadows in his life. In fact, more than one person might have had a motive for murder...