Solicitor Toby Whitby's new client cannot remember his real name. Did he murder his own mother? He was evacuated to Canada at the beginning of World War 2 carrying luggage belonging to a boy named Edward Powley but when he returns twelve years later he soon discovers that Edward Powley is the name of another boy; a boy who did not go to Canada. When Buddy is accused of murdering his own mother and stowing away on the boat to Canada, Toby must discover what really happened on the night the ship sailed and Buddy's house was bombed by the Luftwaffe. As Toby digs into the past a new threat emerges and once again Toby finds himself at the center of a plot to prevent the Queen's coronation.
