There are some things that Phryne Fisher finds intolerable. Having her windscreen shattered by a bullet as she is driving past Melbourne's Victoria Dock...or discovering that bullets from the same gun have entered the body of a beautiful seventeen year old. Not to mention the ruin of her fur and lingerie as she holds the dying, bleeding boy...Phryne swears she will track down the young man's killer, and in doing so stumbles across the plans for a bank robbery and possible massacre...But then her beloved maid Dot is kidnapped and nothing can distract Phryne from revenge.' (Source: back cover, 1992 McPhee Gribble edition)
'A young man with a blue tattoo lies cradled in Phryne's arms. Sadly, it's not another scene of glorious seduction. This time it's murder.
'Outraged by this brutal slaughter, Phryne promises to find out who is responsible. But Phryne doesn't yet know how deeply into the mire she'll have to go — bank robbery, anarchists, and the kidnap of her beloved maid Dot. Her investigations lead her into the arms of the delicious yet dangerous anarchist, Peter the Painter.'
Source: Australian Television Information Archive. (Sighted: 24/5/2013)
Note: The character 'Peter the Painter' is based on a 'real' Latvian anarchist (a historical figure whose identity is disputed and whose actual existence is sometimes questioned). Also known as Peter Piaktow, Peter the Painter was said to have been involved in the Siege of Sidney Street (also called the Battle of Stepney) in London's East End in 1911.