Plot Summary:Detective Chief Inspector Foyle is still itching to make a greater contribution to the war effort and there is the possibility of an appointment to Naval Intelligence in Liverpool. Sgt. Milner's wife has left him and returned to Wales and he too is considering leaving Hastings and to start afresh. They first have to investigate the death of a young man who died in an explosion. The body was badly disfigured and the only thing they have to go on is the man's gold pocket watch but they believe him to be William Messinger, the son of Sir Giles Messinger. Foyle traces the younger Messinger to a secret training school, Hill House, and determines that they're dealing with a clever deception and competition between military intelligence and the newly formed Special Operations Executive.