Marjorie Hardaway has a troublesome new Chartreux kitten on her hands. The aptly named Houdini is a master escape artist, regularly hiding in cupboards or running outside as though he can walk straight through walls.

When a café regular, Fletcher Byrne, leaves behind a half-completed adoption form for Houdini, Marjorie is therefore eager for him to come back and finish the process. The problem is, nobody has seen or heard from Fletcher since that afternoon. The distance-learning student has disappeared into thin air!

While a major drug bust keeps the police occupied, Marjorie tries to track down Fletcher's whereabouts. With a twin brother arriving in town, the appearance of TWO girlfriends, and a sideline in criminal activities rearing its ugly head, she's soon chasing leads all over town.

But until she can locate the absent student and unravel the tangle of clues he's left in his trail, neither Marjorie nor Houdini will be able to rest.