Rex Stout, creator of the famous series of detective works about Nero Wolfe, a great gourmet, a passionate lover of orchids and one of the greatest detectives ever described in literature, this time entrusts the investigation of complicated crimes to private detective Tecumseh Fox, Westchester County, New York State. The body of Ridley Thorpe, a financier with an untarnished reputation, is found in a secluded forest cottage. Andy Grant, who visited Thorpe's estate the day before the murder and was the first to discover the body, is accused of committing the crime. Nancy Grant, Andy's sister, appeals to Tecumseh Fox to clear her brother of misdemeanor murder. Fox takes up the investigation (“Death of the Understudy”). It is very bad for business when someone unknown adds quinine to cans of a quality product. Private detective Amy Duncan takes on the case, but is soon removed from the investigation. Before this, Amy's car accidentally collides with Fox's car - fortunately, without serious consequences - and the girl shares with the detective her suspicions about who is to blame for the spoilage of the food. Amy believes that the culprit is the owners of a company that competes with the company of her uncle, Arthur Tingley. A girl goes to visit her uncle and finds him dead in his own office... (“Bad for business”) It all started with a violin. Tecumseh Fox's friend, a former violinist, persuades the private detective to participate in a charity event to purchase a valuable instrument for the young violin virtuoso Jan Tussar. Fox is not a music fan, but he and a friend come to Carnegie Hall to hear Ian perform. The concert goes as luck would have it, and it seems that the violin is to blame. When, after the concert, Fox and his friend rush backstage to console Ian, they find the violinist dead - he shot himself in front of witnesses, and the violin disappeared in the chaos (“Broken Vase”).