It seemed an easy enough scene for Bob Meakin to play. The handsome but aging star was to jam the eyeglasses on his nose as he rushed down the subway stairs, then look around wildly for his girl. The producer of Northburn Films thought they might be able to shoot it in one take. But with the crew in position and the camera rolling, Meakin tripped on the stairs, and fell directly beneath the wheels of the incoming train. At first this appeared to be no more than an appalling accident, but subsequent events convince Inspector Henry Tibbett that murder was added to the script.

Henry Tibbett, Chief Superintendent of Scotland Yard, has for years delighted those who love a classic Brittish detective story. A modest self-effacing man, Tibbett possesses an almost uncanny "nose" for crime, and those who know him well realize that his gentlemanly demeanor masks a shrewd mind and a fearless spirit. When he teams up with his wife, Emmy, a cheerful but formidable woman, there isn't a criminal anywhere who can rest secure.