Winner of the Lovey Award for Best Historical Novel

To become part of the Nero Wolfe legend, Archie Goodwin must prove his worth.

Archie Goodwin comes to New York City hoping for a bit of excitement. In his third week working as a night watchman, he stops two burglars in their tracks — with a pair of hot lead slugs. Dismissed from his job for being 'trigger-happy,' he parlays his newfound notoriety into a job as a detective's assistant, helping honest sleuth Del Bascom solve cases like the Morningside Piano Heist, the Rive Gauche Art Gallery Swindle, and the Sumner-Hayes Burglary. But it's the kidnapping of Tommie Williamson, the son of a New York hotel magnate, that introduces Goodwin to the man who will change his life. Young Tommie has gone missing, and only one detective is built for the job: Nero Wolfe, the heavyset genius of West Thirty-Fifth Street. Together they will form one of the most unlikely crime fighting duos in history — but first Goodwin must find Tommie Williamson, and prove to Wolfe that he deserves a place by his side.