An ex-safe cracker turned Scotland Yard detective, Cleek's slim and faultlessly dressed form is topped by an india-rubber-like face, of which he has remarkable control. With the power to distort and transform his visage and mimic any mannerism he desires, Cleek (with the assistance of his cockney assistant "Dollops") makes a super natural detective! Told as a fairly continuous narrative, held together by the underlying thread of Cleek’s efforts to redeem himself and thus gain the affection of the woman with whom he has fallen in love. There is also another underlying thread concerning Cleek’s erstwhile accomplice, Margot, and her present accomplice, Merode, as Cleek occasionally finds himself foiling their plans.