A beautiful heiress attempts to seek refuge in Nero Wolfe's house without revealing her identity or reasons for hiding. When she is turned away and found murdered shortly thereafter, Archie Goodwin takes off on his own to find the killer.

Moved by Archie Goodwin's zeal in trying to find the killer of heiress Priscilla Eads, Nero Wolfe takes on Archie as a client to aid him in his quest. Tension mounts when another woman who knew the heiress is found murdered.