David Whiteley

On the eve of Anzac Day, Dr Blake bumps into a former British Army colleague at the police station, Major Derek Alderton. Alderton is in town, trying to track down two army deserters believed to be hiding out in the area. But before they can reminisce, Dr Blake is called to the morgue where the body of the attendant, Bert Prentice, lies with shocking injuries in a pool of blood.

When a travelling salesman dies in a single car accident on a quiet country road, Chief Superintendent Lawson labels it a drink driving case. But when Constable Parks reveals the corpse’s face was blue, Dr Blake is intrigued. Although the victim’s clothes reek of alcohol, Blake concludes that the salesman was not drunk and certainly died before the crash. But how? And why is the face blue?

When a delirious prisoner on death row tells Dr Blake he is innocent of the police shooting for which he is soon to hang, Blake is stunned – and believes him. But no-one else seems interested in uncovering the truth. Recidivist criminal Sean McBride is accused of shooting a policeman, Clive Cooper. Sealing his fate on death row, Sean originally pleaded guilty to the crime and refused to defend himself in court.

A prospector announces to a crowded pub that he has struck gold and later that night is found at the bottom of his mine shaft after showing off the nugget in the pub. The location of the murder triggers distressing war memories for Dr Blake.

Blake returns home to Ballarat without Jean, to find himself thrown straight into another murder investigation; Ballarat is hosting a stopover in a round-Australia race, and a young mechanic has been found dead underneath another competitor’s car. There’s pressure from business to wrap up the investigation quickly, but Blake has dealt with that kind of interference before. But when Lawson is run down, Blake finds himself facing a very different case. And Jean’s absence – and the appearance of an intrusive reporter – only makes things more complicated.