On a still, foggy evening in Cambridge the sharp crack of a pistol shot disrupts the sleepy calm of the university, leaving a porter lying dead. Ex-cop John Bewick is swiftly called in by the college authorities to get this dirty business cleared up with a minimum of fuss. His friend - and rival - Chief Inspector Gio Jones has no such concerns: he's got a murder to solve and ruffing a few feathers is a favoured pastime. But, Bewick and Jones find that the campus is a hotbed of sexual jealousies and petty rivalries. And with the discovery of a second corpse, the investigation turns critical.