An unidentified corpse is found in a bathtub and the police are jumping to conclusions. It was the body of a tall stout man. On his dead face, a handsome pair of gold pince-nez mocked death with grotesque elegance... Lord Peter Wimsey knew immediately what the corpse was supposed to be, and with the help of his friend Inspector Parker, their problem is to find out whose body had found its way into Mr Alfred Thipps' Battersea bathroom.