A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse.... In this case, it's the Manchu Stallion, a priceless jade statuette that has been lost for almost a century. In the past people have died - and killed - for it and now it has surfaced on Harry Webster's patch and he's going to discover just how Richard III felt. Hired by Alison Grey, the beautiful and wealthy woman of his dreams, to check out the horse's current owner, Webster soon finds himself attracting the interest of her wealthy and ruthless ex-husband, who has his own unfathomable agenda. Is it love or hate that drives Jack Grey? What is the fascination that a cold piece of jade exerts over the people around Alison? Is it a kind of love - or hate? Harry's going to find out but not before the killing starts.... The result is a crime thriller that's a homage to the wisecracking tradition of Hammett, Chandler and Robert B. Parker but with a decidedly English twist.
