Robbery Without Violence

Fifty million pounds' worth of gold disappears from a bank vault overnight, even though the vault was meant to be secure against any break-in. Chief Inspector Hargraves of Scotland Yard has no explanation for the theft. The case worsens when the bank's owner dies under unclear circumstances, so Hargraves once again turns to Sawley Garson, a scientist who specialises in crimes that appear impossible to solve. The story asks whether Garson can make sense of a theft and a death that seem to defy any rational account.