Dick Francis

Ned Talbot has worked all his life as a book-maker so he knows not to expect any sympathy from the punters as they count their winnings at Royal Ascot. When a man steps forward from the crowd claiming to be his father, Ned is thrown into turmoil. He'd been told that both his parents died when he was a baby. Barely an hour later, his father stabbed by an unknown assailant. Before dying, he warns Ned to "be very careful." But of whom? Of what? Ned finds...

Drama and intrigue take place on a Canadian train on the horse racing circuit containing both Julius Apollo Filmer, one of horse racing's most notorious villains, and Tor Kelsey, undercover agent for the Jockey Club's security service.