A scientific investigator, Craig Kennedy, probes the apparently suicidal death of a prominent lawyer after the man's wife reports prophetic dreams and a puzzling typed note. Combining chemical analysis, psychoanalytic interviews, mechanical devices, and methodical detective work, he untangles poisoning, forged evidence, and suppressed motives, employing association tests, lie-detection, and novel apparatus. The plot moves through forensic procedure and psychological theory toward a confession, juxtaposing emerging scientific techniques with human vulnerability and tangled social relationships.