Ellery Queen drops in to Dutch Memorial Hospital for a quick visit with his old friend, Medical Director Dr. John Minchen. Minchen gives him a tour, and invites him to stay and observe an operation on the hospital's benefactor, Abby Doorn. Ellery takes a seat in the operating theatre's gallery. The patient is brought in, but something is wrong. She is dead, garroted with wire.
This book is part of the Ellery Queen Detective Books series and is book #3 in the series.