The city is in uproar. Like a savage cat, the unknown strangler pounces on his victims. Victims chosen seemingly at random. One murder after another. The police are completely baffled. The mayor orders Ellery Queen on the case. There are the facts, laid out as neatly as the corpses. But where do they connect? Ellery believes that these seemingly mad murders are all committed by the same person. But he can’t prove it. He believes that there’s a pattern in the killings that will provide a solution. But he can’t find it. Ellery is as baffled as the police. They are working desperately, but the murders continue – the cat is still at large.