When Perry Mason questioned Lucille Barton, she lied about her past, about her many marriages, about her gun, about her boyfriends. Mason should have run out on the case right then, but he didn't. A few days later the police found a gun beside the murdered body of Lucille Barton's first husband. On it there was the clear print of a man's right index finger—Perry Mason's!

The early edition pictured also included The Case of the Crying Swallow and The Case of the Crimson Kiss, two short novels not previously published in book form. We're not sure whether the original printing of the novel included these shorter works.