Drawers Random (christened Roderick because his father was obsessed by Smollet) was precocious beyond his twelve years. Drawers preferred the Gashouse, his secret lair where he could drink his beer in peace, to the literary gloom of the Random house. From beer and pulp magazines it was easy for Drawers to step into the realm of murder detective when things began to happen to his neighbors, the Twiggs.
The Twiggs were a rich family and a large one. Their eccentricities, their violent likes and dislikes were astonishing--so astonishing that Police detective Peter Mood, called in to investigate the sudden death of old Tobias Twigg, was baffled and bewildered. Besides the Twiggs--who, en masse or individually, were fantastic enough for any mystery--there was much talk of the black seven of a knowing, talking starling, and an empty mansion of unpleasant odors with a cellar full of rats.