Charles Swinburne and his friend, the private detective Rupert Grant, are startled when Major Brown recounts the things that happened to him that morning. Along with Rupert’s brother, the ex-judge Basil Grant, they launch headlong into their investigation only to discover that the antagonist is a member of the Club of Queer Trades. Over the course of six short stories, the secrets of the Club come to light in surprising ways.

The Club of Queer Trades was one of G. K. Chesterton’s earlier works, and was originally serialized in Harper’s Weekly in 1904 before being collected into a novel in 1905. In recent years it was produced as a six-part radio drama by the BBC.