Joseph Conrad grew up in the Polish Ukraine, a large, fertile plain between Poland and Russia. It was a divided nation, with four languages, four religions, and a number of different social classes. A fraction of the Polish-speaking inhabitants, including Conrad's family, belonged to the szlachta, a hereditary class in the aristocracy on the social hierarchy, combining qualities of gentry and nobility. They had political power, despite their impoverished state.
Brett introduces Melita Pargeter, his newest detective. Melita is a rich and vivacious widow whose mystery-solving talents come in handy when a murderer stalks a hotel for retirees.
There's a new gym teacher transferring over from the junior high, and Hubie is worried. The junior high students say he's big, mean, and blows his whistle a lot. Will Hubie really have to run a lap around the world to pass Mr. Green's class? Will he be able to lift Mr. Green's pickup truck and climb up a rope while it's on fire?
