Een man krijgt de schrik van zijn leven als zijn bijna veertig jaar doodgewaande oom opeens opduikt en hij erachter komt waar deze al die tijd is gebleven.

Eldritch Swan is a dead man. Or at least that is what his nephew Stephen has always been told. Until one day Eldritch walks back into his life after thirty-six years in an Irish prison. He won't reveal any of the details of his incarceration, insisting only that he is innocent of any crime.

His return should be of interest to no one. But the visit of a solicitor with a strange request will take Eldritch and his sceptical nephew from sleepy seaside Paignton to London, and an exhibition of Picasso paintings from the prestigious Brownlow collection. This is the starting point on a journey that will transport them back to the Second World war and the mystery behind Eldritch's imprisonment.