 Alarmed by a series of baffling suicides of prominent gamblers popularly dubbed "The Pajama Murders" by the newspapers, Holmes fakes his own death and assumes the identity of Rajni Singh, a retired Indian military man with a paralyzed arm. After losing a large sum in a casino and writing a bad check to cover his losses, he appears to try to take his own life. He is prevented by the mysterious and sophisticated Andrea Spedding with an offer of a loan with his life insurance policy as collateral. Shortly thereafter, there is an attempt on his life with a rare but deadly spider with the only other clue a child s footprint. A resurfaced Holmes consults arachniolgists in an effort to solve the mystery.