A death takes place in Boston in the early 1900's gaslight era, and chronicles the mysterious death of 62-year-old John Darrow, who openly stated having a premonition that he was going to be murdered. The death takes place in a closed room in which there are 5 other people: the family physician Dr. Ned (the story's narrator) Gwen (the victim's beautiful daughter), Maitland (our protagonist; a chemist/lawyer), and two other guests of the family. All the doors and windows are closed except the window on the East side which is open about 6 inches. Darrow is in the center of the room with the other five in different parts of the room. He was seated on a high backed chair, a full 8 feet away from the open east side window. Is it a natural death, a suicide or murder most foul? A detecting competition arises between George Maitland and police Inspector Godin, reportedly the best detective in the U.S., who concludes his investigation overnight.