A gripping novel about the corrupt and avaricious world of politics, newly translated as part of the Maigret series.

Was Maigret wrong? From one point of view, certainly, because he had nothing to gain but everything to lose in confronting as powerful and wily a man as Mascoulin. The latter, on his feet, was proffering his hand. In a flash, Maigret remembered Point and his ‘dirty hands’ stance.He didn’t stop to weigh up the pros and the cons but grabbed his coffee cup, which was empty, and raised it to his lips, ignoring the outstretched hand. The politician’s eyes clouded. The quivering at the corner of his mouth intensified.

Inspector Maigret is drawn into the unsavoury world of politics and cover-up scandals when he is called to the home of the Minister of Public Works on unofficial business.