Nero Wolfe, a passionate orchid collector, a gourmet beer lover, and a great detective, practically never leaves his home. He solves every crime based on the facts gathered by Archie Goodwin, his charming, ironic assistant with an excellent memory.
In the final stage of a contest organized by a perfume company, one of the organizers is murdered, and answers to the final questions disappear from his wallet. All five finalists fall under suspicion, and to avoid a scandal, the organizers ask Wolfe to find the sheet with the answers. Contrary to the police’s opinion, Wolfe holds to the theory that the person who stole the answers is also the murderer—one and the same.