That's right–Thompson C. Briephs is dead. D-E-A-D. The body of the flamboyant puzzle editor was found under very suspicious circumstances–and his grief-stricken mother, a wealthy dowager, has hired private investigator Rosco Polycrates to come up with some answers.

To understand the victim's death, Rosco needs to understand his life. So he consults with the other crossword editor in Newcastle, Massachusetts–beautiful and brainy Annabella Graham, who spends her time creating conundrums for the town's rival paper.

Now this mismatched pair has discovered that five puzzles–written by Briephs before his death–may contain the clues that will help them fill in the blanks in this investigation. And they'll need to look everywhere–including up, down, and across–to stop the killer from striking again . . .