During the inspection Kelkar, in a fit of temper, throws a heavy inkwell at the inept Sergeant Desai, killing him.
Ghote and Kelkar conspire to cover up the killing, but over the brooding course of the novel, it becomes apparent that it is only a matter of time before they are brought to justice.
[1] India experiences seasonal monsoon weather, before which heavy cloud with intense heat and humidity is typical.
The story begins immediately before the monsoon breaks and the weather conditions play a part in the death that is key to the plot.
Additional Deputy Inspector General "Tiger" Kelkar, a man Ghote once investigated and cleared of suspected corruption in Bats Fly at Dusk, arrives to inspect the station.
The next day, Kelkar completes his inspection and the station's normal inspector returns from sick leave, allowing Ghote to go home.
In conversation, he mentions that things were in a mess at Vigatpore and cites as an example the untidy state of the lost property room.
After this Ghote submits a false statement saying he left duty before the death and cannot shed any light on those events.
Ghote is dismayed to learn that the prosecution will be handled by a man with a fierce reputation for cross examination.
When the inquiry adjourns, Ghote accompanies Mrs. Ahmed to a jail and assists her in gaining access to her clients.
Mrs. Ahmed remarks that, if her clients were as outraged as they were entitled to be, the police would spend all their time suppressing riots.
She tells Ghote that she campaigns for civil rights because her younger brother was diagnosed with leprosy and sent away to a poorly run leper colony.
The next day of the inquiry, the porter who worked there is called to testify as to the time Ghote returned to the home.
He tells Mrs. Ahmed who soon forces the man to admit that the clock was sold long ago and that he couldn't have seen the time on it.
The inspector considers Ghote's statement to the porter mentioning the time he arrived to be a trick to mislead an ignorant and confused old man.
The prosecutor concludes by saying tomorrow he will call a witness to testify that Ghote and Kelkar took Desai's body to the lake draped over a bicycle.
Ram, once a fierce and angry young man, has grown into being a cheerful and successful, if legally and morally dubious, businessman.
Protima has confided everything to Ram, who gently teases Ghote about his conscience and suggests bribery as a solution.
When the inquiry reconvenes, however, Ghote decides he cannot continue to deceive Mrs. Ahmed because she is a dedicated campaigner for truth and justice and confesses to her.
Mrs. Ahmed asks if he intends to confess to the inquiry board and Ghote replies he will not because he has, apart from this incident, been an honest and good policeman and wishes to remain one.
Ghote denounces the latest piece of evidence and persuades the inquiry presiding officer to examine the document more closely.
The presiding officer discovers the date on the report has been altered to implicate Ghote and orders the inspector responsible taken into custody.
To celebrate, Ghote's family visits the beach for "Nareli Purnima, Coconut Day, the fixed date on which the monsoon was held to be officially over."
The major theme is that of guilt and the concealment of wrongdoing, with the eventual release that exposure of the truth can bring.
(Additional Deputy Inspector-General) "Tiger" Kelkar has gone to Vigatpore, outside Bombay, to check on Inspector G. V. Ghote's temporary work there.
""In Under A Monsoon Cloud, Inspector Ghote and his creator, H.R.F.Keating, are in best form"The story takes place in Mumbai and the surrounding area of India.