Nero Wolfe, an avid orchid collector, a great gourmet, a beer lover and a great detective, almost never leaves the house. He unravels all the crimes on the basis of the facts collected by Archie Goodwin, his charming, ironic assistant with an excellent memory. Never before has a murder occurred within the walls of Nero Wolfe's mansion. Waiter Pierre Dacos from the Rusterman restaurant, who came to the detective’s house at night, declares that an attempt is being made on his life and demands a meeting with Wolfe. Archie Goodwin, in order not to wake up the boss, invites Pierre to spend the night at their house and reschedule the meeting until the morning. And when everyone calmed down, an explosion rumbled in the house. A bomb disguised as a cigar explodes in Pierre’s hand... What else can the detective do but take on the crime investigation (“Family Affair”). Wolfe’s personal chef falls ill with the flu, and the detective is forced to temporarily switch to food from a delicatessen. But what was the degree of indignation of the detective when quinine was discovered in the pate bought by Archie Goodwin in the store. Was someone going to poison Nero Wolfe? The detective begins his own investigation, and it leads to unpredictable results... (“The Bitter End”) It is no secret to readers that the traditional meal prepared by Fritz Brenner, Nero Wolfe’s personal chef and a top-class cook, is certainly present in every Stout novel. The “Cookbook,” which concludes this collection, contains recipes for the famous detective’s favorite dishes (“Nero Wolfe’s Cookbook”). Most of the works included in the collection are given in new translations or published for the first time.