London 1661, the Commonwealth is over and the King is returned from exile. Thomas Hill has come to London to attend the Coronation, guest of friends visiting from Barbados. Hill is settled into retirement and is not looking for adventure but adventure finds him.

Three men have been slain in suspicious circumstances. The methods are different but two are linked by connections to the Post Office and its work in intercepting communications. There is concern that both the Dutch and the French are looking for an opportunity to invade England. Added to this Hill is developing a relationship with an independent young woman and he does not know where that is leading.

I hadn't seen the first two books in the series so I came to this cold about characters and back-story, that is often a problem with joining a series mid-way. In this case the book stands up well on its own. There are references to previous escapades but these are always given a quick explanation and are not intrinsic to the tale. It's an enjoyable story which moves along at a good pace and the bits about cryptography are very interesting. ( )