DeVille started as a bobby on the beat and rose rapidly through the ranks of the Metropolitan Police to become one of their foremost detectives. The stories in this collection are based on his experiences and are all true - except one, and even that is true-to-life. DeVille dealt with many crimes and misdemeanours but always fairly, never over-stepping the mark. His stories reveal a caring and considerate approach to his criminal flock. At the same time these stories are often excursions into a curious land where truth is stranger than fiction and populated by uncommissioned police dogs, invisible cyclists, flying-horses, gorilla-suited interviewers, and straight-talking crickets. In fact the more serious his subject, the more hilarious the story he tells. In his tales of The London Village of Melsham, included in full in this collection, he shows his affection for the larger-than-life characters who once lived and worked in that place and who always kept him on his toes not so very long ago.

DeVille did murders. Or rather he investigated them. And in telling his often grim tales, he reveals much about his own psychological make-up. In order to deal with the horrors of dismembered bodies and inconceivable wickedness, DeVille is driven to repeat his story, to repeat it to any and all who will listen. He regularly gathers a crowd of listeners and commands a table at the Pig & Whistle, somewhere in the depths of South London.

Throughout this book DeVille confesses much to his Writer, who affectionately prods and prompts, revealing the full extent of DeVille's devotion to duty and the welfare of all. This is the true story of Detective DeVille of the Metropolitan Police, of Detective DeVille the Urban Shepherd.