Circus clown Brinarno finds the report of his death funny until his credit card and bank account are frozen. Someone had gone to a lot of trouble to declare him dead.James Pidgley has moved to the quiet hillside town of Great Malvern to develop a small piece of land. The trouble with the locals about his caravan forces him to move into the circus winter quarters adjacent to his land. The circus owner's boyfriend is found murdered and then a clown is found dead. James starts to investigate on behalf of Mabel Morris, the circus owner. His Romany ancestry makes him a welcome ally of the circus travelers. James is shocked at the misinformation given out by the local police. Brinarno's employment for the British government on classified military projects complicates his search for the killer. The unlikely combination of skinhead circus tentmen and Chinese acrobats aid James in solving this three-ring circus mystery.