 Archie Goodwin receives a phone call from an acquaintance, Austin “Dinky” Byne, asking for a favour.Byne routinely acts as a chaperone for an annual dinner hosted by his aunt, Louise Grantham Robilotti, which is given in honour of four young unwed mothers living at Grantham House, a charity supported by her late husband.Byne claims to have a cold and is unable to attend; although skeptical, Archie agrees to stand in for him, despite Mrs. Robilotti being a former client of Nero Wolfe’s who bears him a personal dislike.