In 1949 the town of Winchingham was rocked by a series of three astonishing disappearances: a man on his way to being married; a room from 100 years ago; and a narrow street. All three disappearances have overtones of the supernatural, and that's something that local citizen Jimmy Melrose thrives on. But for Detective-Inspector Lancelot Carolus Smith, the supernatural simply won't do and he resolves to find what's really behind the three impossible mysteries. Only New Zealander Norman Berrow could come up with such a complicated web of events, and only Detective-Inspector Smith could unravel the skein of mystery and terror that has Winchingham so baffled.