"When a dog named Dutch hears the gardener going down the stairs each morning, he anticipates her every move. But most of all, he waits for the beautiful words, 'Okay, Dutch. Let's go outside.' It's a bright summer day. Dutch stands back from the dark, dusty toolshed, but the rest of the day is blissful -- rolling in the dewy grass, waiting for a scratch behind his ears, napping on the gardener's boots at midday and playing in the hose."--

Archie Goodwin is not overly fond of Theodore Horstmann, who takes care of the orchids on the rooftop of Nero Wolfe's West Thirty-Fifth Street brownstone. But as loyal assistant to the legendary private detective, Archie will put his animosity aside when the surly orchid-keeper stumbles through the front door beaten within an inch of his life. While the gardener lies in a coma, Nero sends Archie to poke around his apartment near the river. The place...