Philo Vance, accompanied by his prize-losing Scottish terrier, investigates the locked-room murder of a prominent and much-hated collector whose broken Chinese vase provides an important clue.

When a criminal breaks into the Beverly Hills home of a wealthy couple experiencing marital problems, he unwillingly provides the spouses with an unlikely resolution to their conflicts as well as a solution to his own secret.

A speculation on the fate of the famous hijacker who parachuted with his ransom and disappeared in the mountains. Has Cooper succeeded in following a meticulous plan to disappear into anonymity despite the best efforts of a dogged cop?