Mr. Gryce leads his young police detective protégé to face his first nemesis. A young girl who is more than she appears has gone missing from a local household. Even for the rising young police detective, who was universally acknowledged by the force as the most astute man for mysterious and unprecedented cases, this mystery is complex - it seems everyone has something to hide, and the detectives must figure out who is hiding sinister motives rather than family secrets.

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"Talking of sudden disappearances the one you mention of Hannah in that Leavenworth case of ours, is not the only remarkable one which has come under my direct notice. Indeed, I know of another that in some respects, at least, surpasses that in points of interest, and if you will promise not to inquire into the real names of the parties concerned, as the affair is a secret, I will relate you my experience regarding it.