Hilda Adams' life as a nurse has become a bit dull. As she approaches 30, she sees long, monotonous years of trained obedience to orders ahead of her. But a rascally patient, a police detective, sees in her the intelligence and discretion of a born criminal investigator. People confide in a private nurse; she could unearth clues that can crack a case.

Her first case is the disappearance of Clare March, a wealthy debutante who has been missing without a trace for a month. Miss Adams is hired to live in and tend to Clare's hysterical mother. In the middle of her first night on duty, as she is getting a snack, she watches as a little old lady furtively comes down the stairs, carrying a large buckled bag....