This is one of many famous novels written by R. Austin Freeman that includes the character of Dr. John Thorndyke. Dr. Thorndyke is a legal expert, medical expert and investigator all rolled into one gifted package. The story is told through the eyes of young Dr. Paul Berkley, a former student of Dr. Thorndyke who becomes acquainted with the family of a man named John Bellingham who had mysteriously disappeared some years previously. Mr. Bellingham was a renowned archaeologist and benefactor to the British museum who had left behind him an unresolved last will and testament that was in dispute because his death could not be confirmed. Dr. Thorndyke applies his usual skill to unravel the mystery and arrives at the solution which eludes all others looking into the case and does so in his own special style. - Summary by Howard Skyman