The crime code

Lionel Hipwell is a well‑to‑do young man from a landed family, educated at Eton and Oxford, and poised to follow his father into a Conservative seat in Parliament. He works a quiet, almost leisurely post in the Foreign Office’s treaty department while courting Joan Gell, the daughter of a prominent King’s Counsel whose family is locked in a long‑standing political feud with his own. Their secret engagement unfolds against a backdrop of country‑life pursuits, high‑society gatherings, and the occasional indulgence in London’s night‑club scene that Lionel finds more frivolous than appealing.

All of a sudden, a single, ill‑timed incident catapults Lionel from respectable society into a vortex of suspicion and danger. Branded a criminal, he must outwit authorities and navigate a maze of deception just to stay one step ahead. As he scrambles to retain his freedom, the story hints at a world where loyalty, reputation, and love are tested by forces far beyond his control.