Joe Sixsmith, a black private investigator working in the failing factory town of Lufton, England, becomes the object of police inquiry after he has the misfortune of being found at the crime scene both times prominent lawyers are murdered.

As he attempts to clear his name, Sixsmith's attention is divided because he is also attempting to find the source of threats sent to a popular young athlete, Zak Oto. The world-class runner is being pressured to throw a New Year's Day race at the grand opening of Lufton Pleasure Dome, touted as the opportunity to rejuvenate a fading community.

Juggling his own dilemma with the police and the puzzling threats, Sixsmith works his way through the many strata of Lufton's high and low life, meeting unsavory track and sports denizens, snobby lawyers, and the baffling Oto family.

No matter how messy his life becomes, Sixsmith and his cat Whitey always manage to land on their feet and see that the culprits are caught.