Spider has bought a half share in a small executive aircraft which he flies with his partner. One of his first customers is an acquaintance from his days of crime. He think nothing of this until his best friend is found dead in the Thames.
Spider is forced to fly up North en route to Russia with a bomb on board. This turns out to be the decoy at the airport for a half a million pound robbery.
Narrowly escaping the aeroplane explosion Spider returns home to find Reissen's body being loaded into a van. Then Bulman turn up to save him being drowned.
Spider is invited to sit on a prison enquiry board headed by a rich merchant banker. Bulman and Willis continue dogging his tracks, with Bulman becoming ever more distracted by the need to nick Spider.
Caught up in a situation beyond his control, Spider finds that Quilter has been murdered and Bucket- Face Smith has disappeared. Then he finds something nasty in the study.
Imprisoned, Spider is involved in a conspiracy to spring Norden and himself. They succeed in breaking out of jail and Norden disappears, leaving behind a dead warden.