The work opens in the London offices of Rex Fortescue’s financial firm. The third-person narrator assures the reader that contrary to malicious rumor, Rex is not having an affair with his attractive young secretary, Miss Grosvenor, as he “recently married a second wife, both glamorous and expensive” (2). Miss Grosvenor carries out her first morning duty: bringing her employer his personal blend of tea.

The routine is broken when Miss Grosvenor hears distressed noises coming from the office. She finds Rex gasping for breath. The secretaries are at a loss about which doctor or hospital to call. Miss Grosvenor assures her colleagues that she did nothing out of the ordinary, despite Rex accusing her of doctoring his beverage. Eventually, two doctors and an ambulance arrive on the scene.

The chapter opens from the perspective of Inspector Neele of Scotland Yard. Neele is often regarded as unintelligent, though he has a keen analytical mind. He interviews Miss Griffith, another of Rex’s secretaries, and briefly imagines her to be the killer but soon dismisses the idea. Neele is privately certain that Rex has been poisoned, and he is waiting for official confirmation of this as well as an update on his condition.