Inspector Ghote, 'one of the great creations of detective fiction' (Alexander McCall Smith), is sent undercover to find corruption within the very police force where he works, in this classic mystery - with a brand-new introduction by bestselling author Vaseem Khan. There are bats everywhere. Swooping and darting overhead, portending darkness and its renewed flurry of uncheckable pickpocketing. In the back garden, terrifying Inspector Ghote's wife and child and stripping his prized plantain tree of fruit. But the modest yet determined Bombay detective must contend with more serious bats – the five, possibly corrupt, CID officers who make up the Black-money and Allied Transaction Squad, the anti-fraud team known as the Bats. His assignment has come from the top: join the squad and spy on their every move, to uncover which of the high-flying officers is leaking information to the very criminals they're meant to be arresting. Ghote, who is currently out of favour with his boss, sees in this new assignment a chance to prove himself. But as his time with the squad increases, so do his suspicions about the whole team. His instincts tell him to trust no one – and soon that includes his own family . . .
