£19,000

In the bustling heart of turn‑of‑the‑century London, a modest dental practice on Finsbury Square struggles to stay afloat. The proprietor, a weary yet meticulous dentist, shares cramped quarters with his brother, a surgeon whose own patients are few and finances tighter. Their days are marked by overdue rent, nervous apprentices, and the occasional odd request that drifts in from the city’s restless streets. One morning an unmistakably American client arrives, demanding a “painless” tooth extraction—complete with gas—without even knowing how the procedure works.

The visitor’s casual demand masks a larger, more puzzling situation: the extra fee, the secretive anesthetist next door, and a newspaper headline that hints at something far beyond a simple dental visit. As the brothers juggle their dwindling resources, the case pulls them into a tangled web of missing bodies, mysterious notes, and shadowy passengers on an ocean liner. Each chapter of the story peels back another layer of intrigue, inviting listeners to follow the clues from the cramped dentist’s chair to the high seas. The result is a tightly wound, period‑flavoured mystery that keeps the listener guessing long after the drill stops.