Zena traces snowflakes down the window of Scott's Detective Bureau and wonders why her father has called her in. It is post-war Liverpool and Scott's is busier than ever. 'Join me, ' her father says. Zena Scott Archer, Private Investigator - it has a certain ring. 'As a typist, ' her father adds. Disappointed but with the blessing of her ever-patient husband Dave, Zena starts at Scott's. Tired of the lazy detectives her father hires, Zena asks her father to give her a chance. Her first case is a success, but can she prove her worth as a woman in a man's world?
Can Zena solve the case of missing designer dresses? Will posing as a gangling St Trinian's schoolgirl succeed in catching the fairground swindlers? How can she convince a missing young man to return home to his parents?
Over the years Zena learns what it takes to be a detective and juggles the intrigue and excitement of solving colourful cases with the duties and domesticity of a wife, daughter, and sister.