The centre of the novel is the dark web of intrigue surrounding Doctor Sturk, the military doctor (who is on the brink of bankruptcy) and Charles Nutter, the local agent for Lord Castlemallard, whom Sturk both hates and envies. Sturk is troubled by vague recollections about Dangerfield, and gradually realizes that he is in fact the wily and dangerous Charles Archer, who actually committed the murder of Beauclerc.
The novel's focal point is the intricate web of deception surrounding Doctor Sturk, a financially precarious military doctor and Charles Nutter, Lord Castlemallard's local representative, whom Sturk both despises and envies. As Sturk struggles to recall fragments of his past, he comes to understand that he is actually the cunning and ruthless Charles Archer, who orchestrated Beauclerc's assassination.