The maid knocked on the door to room 103, hearing no reply, she inserted her pass key and opened the door. When she saw the dead man lying on the floor beside the bed, she dropped her arm load of clean sheets and towels, raising her hands to her mouth. A second later she turned and bolted for the elevator.

Detectives John Robichaud and Pete Duncan would soon be drawn into another complicated investigation as they tried to piece together who the dead man was and why here ended up at the King Edward Hotel with no identification or legitimate reason for being there. Their efforts would eventually put them up against an organized German spy operation that saw them and their friends at Naval Intelligence chasing German agents and murderous merchant seamen from a mystery ship at anchor in Bedford Basin.