Sam wants to be a pulp writer when he's just a mite older and write for Black Mask and Weird Tales, like his favorite writers Mr. Robert E. Howard and Mr. Dashiell Hammett. Right now, though, he works in the mill village's company store, where he can get himself a-plenty of pencils and notebooks. In his spare time, he helps Guy Henson, the village constable and veteran of The Great War, keep the peace around the mill.

Seems like Sam's going to have plenty of ideas for his first two mystery stories, though. First off, he and his friends find a woman's body in the river...a woman dyed purple. Next, Sam is delivering his Mama's breakfast biscuits to the mill workers and finds a man murdered in a locked and empty room.

Will Guy, Sam and their trusty dog Buster be able to discover the murderers?

Hope Sam's trusty pencil holds out...