'He stared at Maigret, who stared back and found no trace of drunkenness in his companion's face. Instead he saw the same eyes ablaze with acute intelligence which were now fixed on him with a look of consummate irony, as though Radek were truly possessed by fierce exultant joy.' An audacious plan to prove the innocence of a young drifter awaiting execution takes Maigret through the grey, autumnal streets of Paris. As he pursues the true culprit from lonely docks to elegant hotels and fashionable bars, he confronts the destructive power of a dangerously sharp intellect. 'Unforgettable vividness.' Independent