A collection of two novellas and three short stories set in the world of the Alaric von Trelow Mysteries, investigations into murders and other crimes predominantly in Germany of the early Weimar Republic.

The Man on the Train – March 1920 – Returning home from Africa, Alaric von Trelow and his companions hear a gunshot from the neighbouring train compartment. When the train stops there is a dead man there alone, and no way in which anyone could have reached him.

The Forgotten File – May 1920 – Did Alaric von Trelow kill a defenceless girl in 1916? An old file certainly claims so, and von Trelow admits he filed the report that said so. But what is the truth?

Anna & Matchstick: Radiowaves – June 1920 – In the second standalone Anna & Matchstick story Anna is asked to participate in a technically illegal concert to be broadcast by radio. But who is using the equipment to make mysterious late-night transmissions and who is trying to kill Anna's tutor? A certain pair of fashionable young Berliners decide they need to know.

The Rusted Cross – March 1921 – The poor widow of an old, dead comrade arrives at von Trelow's door. Her pension, already meagre, has been stopped because the pension office insists her husband is alive, he's asked for copies of his medals, lost in the war, and dead men don't need medals.

The Wrong Kind of Running – May 1921 – Roman Karpenko has lost his rank, his job, his family, and his country, but he can still run. When his daily run puts him in the way of an assassination attempt he acts without thinking, is almost killed for it, then finds he's being offered a job by the man he saved. Someone wanted to kill them, they may not have given up. The issue isn't finding someone who wants to kill Roman's new employer, the issue is deciding which one it was.