London, March 1941. The Blitz continues to cast a shadow over the city's brightest spots such as the Café de Paris. Having narrowly escaped a devastating bomb attack on the nightclub, Detective Chief Inspector Coburg and Sergeant Lampson are called to the disused Lord's Underground station where the body of a man has been discovered.

The dead man was beaten to death by what may have been a cricket bat. Is he linked to the British Empire XI, made up of players from Great Britain and far-flung corners of the globe, who are playing at the world-famous Lord's Cricket Ground? Coburg and Lampson are certainly put in a spin by this complex case.