As a result of an explosion from a planted bomb, the vice-president of a large organization dies. Archie Goodwin begins working to solve several tasks. First: lure the millionaire widow to Wolfe. Second: persuade Wolfe to stop lounging around. Third: make the widow his client. Goodwin solves all three tasks brilliantly, and then Wolfe starts working on one problem—but one with many unknowns.
It’s unknown who planted the bomb. It’s unknown who it was intended for. It’s unknown what the motives behind the act were. It’s unknown what facts uncovered during the investigation the police are hiding… In the finale, everything becomes known. A little-known novel by Stout. Apparently it wasn’t published for censorship reasons.