Two distinct and separate crimes, the murder of a police constable in pursuit of a burglar who had just stolen some ten thousand pounds worth of diamonds, and the attempted poisoning of an avant garde potter. Seemingly, the point in common between the two is the attending physician, one Dr. Oldfield. But that learned gentleman, the eminent expert in Medical Jurisprudence, Dr. John Thorndyke, has his suspicions centered on a crude piece of modernist pottery. Of course, it is only a matter of time before the good doctor discovers the secret of . . . The Stoneware Monkey!