A homeless man's corpse sends a California D.A. down a twisted path in this classic hard-boiled mystery from the author of the Perry Mason series.

"The bestselling author of the century... a master storyteller." -The New York Times

District Attorney Doug Selby's latest trouble begins when the battered corpse of a vagabond is found near the railroad in Madison County. The coroner suspects he was struck by a train. Searching the dead man's wallet, they discover he had a wealthy brother in Phoenix. But who was the dead man? And how did he make it to the train tracks...?

Meanwhile, a neighboring city needs Doug's help. A bookkeeper named John Burke has vanished, potentially with funds stolen from his employer. Burke's neighbors report seeing a drifter in the alley near their house. And when Selby and Sheriff Rex Brandon speak to Burke's employer, they discover Burke wired him from Phoenix...

Selby thinks he has found two threads that will tie together neatly in a bow, but the more he investigates, the more he is left in knots.

Originally published in 1940.