Inspector Maigret "Just take a look," Duclos said in an undertone, pointing to the scene all round them, the picture-book town, with everything in its place, like ornaments on the mantlepiece of a tidy housewife. Everyone here earns his living. Everyone"s more or less content. And above all, everyone keeps his instincts under control, because that"s the rule here, and a necessity if people want to live in society." Outsiders are viewed with suspicion in the small Dutch town of Delfzijl. Maigret, unable to speak the language and a stranger to their strict, church-going way of life, must unearth the sins at the heart of this seemingly respectable community.