Death by strangulation is not a pretty sight, but then Ted Baxter, who had driven his wife to suicide, was an ugly character. His wastebasket bulges with hate mail. One letter — inscribed in copperplate letters with striking green ink — stands out: You have been found guilty of crimes against humanity. The death sentence will be carried out in eight days. Signed: The April Rainers. Chief Inspector Webb of the Shillingham CID soon discerns a pattern. Baxter was not the April Rainers’ first victim. The two other known victims were an extortionist and a hostile-takeover artist; both had so many enemies that another threat seemed insignificant — even one inscribed in copperplate letters. What connects the victims? Who are the April Rainers? Why are they warning their victims beforehand? In his most baffling case yet, Chief Inspector Webb must find out who this group is and why its members are taking the law into their own hands …