When the bombed-out Dolphin Theatre is given to Peregrine Jay by a wealthy but mysterious patron, he is overjoyed. And when the mysterious oil millionaire also gives him a glove that belonged to Shakespeare, Peregrine displays it in the dockside theatre and writes a successful play about it. But then a murder takes place, a boy is attacked, and the glove is stolen. Could it be that oil and water don't mix? Inspector Roderick Alleyn is determined to find out.