Lord and Lady Awkwright, awakened in the night, lie bound and gagged in the dark while kidnappers carry their daughter away, holding her for ransom. It seems a typical kidnapping, yet in fact it is the kidnappers' intention that they should be seen to have failed...

Suspecting that their plans have been leaked, the kidnappers set out to ensnare Detective Constable Carr, who becomes aware of his involvement only when it's too late. Others are drawn into the disastrous situation and each in turn must learn the price of failure.

With taut prose and gripping suspense, Jeffrey Ashford is back to reveal that sometimes a crime goes wrong precisely because it goes right, in The Price of Failure.