Sir Joseph is a brilliant surgeon from Australia who went mad after operating on vast numbers of soldiers during World War 1. His terrible hobby is cutting peoples heads open to steal bits of their brains. His wife is a former nurse who went mad alongside him. They are pursued across England and the continent by Mr. Daniel Rocke, codebreaker of the Foreign service: Miss Ann Lancaster, daughter of one of Londes victims, and Sir Francis Worton, known as Q20, head of the secret service. Londe adopts many disguises, and plots brilliant escapes. This short story collection also containing: The Scarlet Patch, The Terror of Elton Lodge, The House on Salisbury Plain, The Shaftesbury Avenue Murder and others.