Nick Charles was a hard-edged gumshoe for years until his wife Nora's father died and left her an inheritance. After six years living away, he's back in his old haunt, New York, where it seems his very unwelcome past is ready to resurface. Enter Dorothy Wynant, daughter of weird (and possibly insane) inventor Clyde Wynant. Wynant's secretary/mistress has just been murdered. Despite Nick's constant assertions that he's not in the business anymore and definitely not on the case, he gets drawn into a complicated web of family matters, confused identities, and surprising evidence. Wife Nora is a willing accomplice as they sift through the players in the mystery, all the while sipping cocktails and socializing in rarefied New York society. Despite his reluctance, he and Nora are drawn into a byzantine world of speakeasies, sociopaths, and shady ladies. Reader William Dufris renders Hammett's wit and world-weariness with his usual panache.

Dashiell Hammett is recognized as a master of hard-boiled detective fiction. The Thin Man was made into a movie in 1934, directed by W. S. Van Dyke, and The Thin Man was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture and spawned an entire series of films.