Apart from three of the shorter cases of Scotland Yard's Roderick Alleyn—introduced to us as a Detective-Inspector but inevitably being promoted (over his fifty-year career) to the rank of Detective-Chief-Superintendent—this collection includes an introduction to Marsh’s life and work by Douglas G. Greene; essays by Marsh describing the “births” of Alleyn and his wife Troy; four unrelated short stories; a teleplay for a British television series called ‘Crown Court’; and what may be Dame Ngaio’s first published work: the story ‘The Figure Quoted’, which was not discovered until after the first edition of this book was issued. Contents: Roderick Alleyn—Portrait of Troy—Death on the Air—I Can Find My Way Out—Chapter and Verse : The Little Copplestone Mystery Other Stories—The Hand in the Sand—The Cupid Mirror—A Fool About Money—Morepork—Evil Liver—The Figure Quoted Does not include Newly discovered: The figure quoted