1913. The book begins: Blake, the Second Deputy, raised his gloomy hound's eyes as the door opened and a woman stepped in. Then he dropped them again. Hello, Elsie! he said, without looking at her. The woman stood a moment staring at him. Then she advanced thoughtfully toward his table desk. Hello, Jim! she answered, as she sank into the empty chair at the desk end. The rustling of silk suddenly ceased. An aphrodisiac odor of ambergris crept through the Deputy-Commissioner's office.