Someone is running a campaign to discredit Cairo's senior police officials. Is Garvin, the Commandant, playing power games, or is he trying to get to the bottom of the allegations of corruption? What about Garvin's senior deputy, McPhee, a man who might finally be going round the bend? And what of the Mamur Zapt himself? He may be the British head of the city's Secret Police, but is he above suspicion? After all, he does have an Egyptian mistress,...

In the Cairo of 1908, the city lives - and dies - by its caf? culture. But for all restaurant businesses, then and now, the protection rackets pose a problem. And the city's caf?s are experiencing a sudden upsurge in threats from various gangs. But who are they? More importantly, who's behind them? Is the money being channeled to some big crook, or is its use political, for, say, the purchase of guns? With some sixty nationalities, one hundred and...

Cairo in 1909 is the murder capital of the world. Gareth Owen, aka the Mamur Zapt, Chief of the city's Secret Police, investigates a surprising death: one of the Effendi--the Egyptian elite--is shot at a gathering of financiers. Powerful people may have wanted him killed. Is the Mamur Zapt next?