The most famous book by Freeman Wills Crofts is a classic of the "golden age" of the English detective! An unusual cargo comes from Paris to the Port of London: gold coins pour out of a barrel with a "sculpture" tag, and a graceful female hand is visible in the depths, not of marble, but of flesh. The police immediately arrive at the port, but the barrel has disappeared. The case is being prosecuted by Inspector Burnley of Scotland Yard. To find out the identity of the mysterious victim and catch the killer, he has to trace the entire confusing route of the barrel between Paris and London by sea and rail.