Police inspector Lönnion, known for his chronic bad luck and nicknamed by his colleagues Nedotёpa (the bungler), is seriously wounded and finds himself on the brink of death. The circumstances of the crime look highly strange, and the only obvious lead is that, before the attack, Lönnion had been tailing someone.
Whom exactly was the inspector tracking—and what did he manage to uncover? To piece together the events and find the culprit, Commissioner Maigret, together with his subordinates, must determine what Lönnion was doing in the last hours before the fateful attack and what investigation nearly cost him his life.