Barrister Antony Maitland is trying to help young Alan Kirby, accused of receiving a stolen Rubens painting, and finds himself involved in the murder trial of Louise Chorley--who admits killing her husband in order to protect her unnamed art-thief lover. Among the defense witnesses, you see, are a number of Kirby associates. And when Kirby himself is gunned down in the street, Maitland joins the prosecution team in the Chorley case, determined to find the identity of that art-thief mastermind. . . whom he is sure is responsible for Kirby's death. Maitland succeeds, with help from Chief Inspector Sykes, but never manages to make the denouement convincing, despite the elaborate courtroom doings. Still, the appearances by Maitland's wheezy Uncle Nicholas are mercifully brief here (perhaps one can hope that Maitland's dim wife Jenny will also be phased out)--and regulars will find this a bit less soporific than most recent Woods snoozers.