"He that killeth a man, dying let him die."

Leviticus 24:17

Flambeau returns to Kembleford, to attend the funeral of his father Gabriel Hawksworth. He believes that it is a trap, and so it is. Gabriel, alive and well, shows up and tells his son, that, a year ago, he had given up his life of crime after his last job for gangster boss Drake: stealing the Jubilee Crown from the museum. The security guard, Elliot Tucker, was shot, and now Gabriel is seeking atonement, by stealing the crown back from Drake and giving the proceeds of its sale to the widow and her baby boy. He needs Flambeau's help, but his son initially refuses, because he is still bitter after Gabriel abandoned his wife and him, when he was only fourteen years old. Setting these acrimonious feelings aside, a deal is struck, whereby Flambeau keeps the crown, and Gabriel can sell whatever else they steal from Drake.

"Every man has to face his sins, son. Every man."

With Father Brown, Mrs Devine and Brenda joining them in this perilous purloin of the Pope's crown, what can possibly go wrong?

"Bless me, Father, for I have sinned."

"Ego te absolvo ab omnibus censuris, et peccatis..in nominee Patris et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen."