Joseph Reavley, an army chaplain serving in Belgium, discovers the corpse of despised war correspondent Eldon Prentice, apparently murdered by someone on the British side. Meanwhile, Josephs sister Judith is also in Belgium, working as driver to General Cullingford, Prentices uncle. And brother Michael, an officer in British Intelligence, is in London, looking for clues to the identity of the man the Reavleys call the Peacemaker, the mysterious conspirator who ordered the murder of the Reavleys parents. Somehow, the murder of Prentice is linked to the Peacemakers activities, and the Reavley siblings must find out how and why.