The Franchise Affair

　　一方是看來清純年輕的15歲女孩，一方是深居簡出不與任何人主動打交道，看來像巫婆的一對母女，年輕女孩失蹤一個月之後帶著傷出現在眾人面前，指控這對母女幽禁她、毆打她。

羅勃律師是該對母女的委託人，受雇為他們洗刷嫌疑、找出真相。

　　然而，社會大眾一面的傾向同情受虐的年輕女孩，完全無視事實真相和理性的聲音，發揮一己的同情心，對這對母女施予各人心中正義的制裁。

羅勃律師不但要找出真相，還要面對各種突發狀況，他能順利完成委託嗎？

　　Robert Blair was about to knock off from a slow day at his law firm when the phone rang. It was Marion Sharpe on the line, a local woman of quiet disposition who lived with her mother at their decrepit country house, The Franchise. It appeared that she was in some serious trouble: Miss Sharpe and her mother were accused of brutally kidnapping a demure young woman named Betty Kane. Miss Kane's claims seemed highly unlikely, even to Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard, until she described her prison -- the attic room with its cracked window, the kitchen, and the old trunks -- which sounded remarkably like The Franchise. Yet Marion Sharpe claimed the Kane girl had never been there, let alone been held captive for an entire month! Not believing Betty Kane's story, Solicitor Blair takes up the case and, in a dazzling feat of amateur detective work, solves the unbelievable mystery that stumped even Inspector Grant.