Inspector Richard Queen wanted to know the identity of the murdered man. How could he solve a murder mystery without knowing who was murdered? The body was found in a private room of the Hotel Chancellor; no one connected with the investigation had ever seen the man before. His name, where he came from, why he was there, remain a mystery to the end. Yet all who were enmeshed in the web of the tragedy found their lives changed by the death of the nameless nobody.

But even more baffling was the amazing scene of the crime. Everything had been turned backwards: the victim's clothing had been turned backwards, the rug was upside down, the pictures were facing the wall. And what was the explanation of the ramrods stuck up the victim's back?