A disgraced snooker ace wants Lovejoy to find him the billiard table belonging to Mary Queen of Scots. And Charlie Gimbert makes an unwelcome return from Europe.

When a flag from the American War of Independence is discovered hidden in the local church, a number of people claim it as their own.

Lovejoy and Gimbert are in pursuit of a priceless collection ofjudaica which has mysteriously appeared in an Essex cottage.