Heiress, Joanna Smithson, is kidnapped outside Tescos in Formby. Her father turns to Liverpool private investigator, Johnny Ace, for help but things go wrong when Joanna kills one of her captors in self defence and finds herself in court on a charge of murder. As Johnny sets out to prove her innocence, he is asked to trace a missing person by Norris Pond who is writing a history of Wavertree Corinthians F.C. He wants to contact David Blease who played in goal for the club in 1979 but Blease vanished from Liverpool 20 years ago and has not been seen since. It seems an easy task compared to the Smithson kidnapping but, Johnny finds himself drawn into a dangerous world of big-time crime as he seeks the help of Scotland Yard's Det. Chief Inspector Glass to seek out the villains before it is too late..
