To the residents of Salisbury, Jacob Montfield was just another fixture of the urban landscape—the disheveled man pushing an overloaded shopping trolley through rain-slicked streets, mumbling equations. None suspected that one of the most brilliant scientific minds of his generation lurked beneath his matted beard and tattered clothing.

Until his body is found frozen in an alleyway, his precious trolley ransacked—the contents of a lifetime scattered like worthless trash.

Detective Inspector Keith Tremayne and Sergeant Clare Yarwood arrive expecting a routine investigation into a homeless man’s death. But inconsistencies immediately present themselves: precision ligature marks on his wrists, military-grade sedative in his system, and the methodical way his belongings were searched.

When Tremayne discovers Montfield’s true identity—a former research scientist with top security clearance at a government defense laboratory—the case transforms into something far more dangerous. Hidden among his seemingly worthless possessions was a notebook containing revolutionary weapons guidance technology—innovations multiple intelligence agencies would kill to possess.

Within twenty-four hours, stern-faced men with government credentials order them to drop the investigation. When they refuse, subtle threats evolve into active harassment. Their homes are searched, case files confiscated, and superiors pressured to reassign them.

But Tremayne and Yarwood refuse to abandon the homeless genius who deserves justice regardless of national security implications. As they dig deeper, they uncover Montfield’s tragic descent from respected scientist to paranoid outcast—a man who chose homelessness to hide in plain sight from those who wanted his work.