Christopher Quarles is a professor of philosophy and a private consulting detective. Quarles, along with his granddaughter Zena, assists Police Detective Murray Wigan in solving various crimes and mysteries in Victorian England. Whereas the police look for facts and then form a theory of a case, Quarles first forms a theory, often seemingly absurd and based on little more than intuition, then seeks facts in support of it. Of course, to the astonishment of all concerned, Quarles' theories usually prove to be quite right! Christopher Quarles: College Professor and Master Detective was written by Percy James Brebner and first published in 1914, a time when motor cars and electric lights were new marvels of the industrial age.

Dr. Arthur Maxon has a dream: to create an artificial human being! His first twelve experiments have resulted only in grotesque, subhuman monsters. But Number Thirteen is perfect, and will make an ideal mate for Virginia, Dr. Maxon's only daughter. But his monstrous plan goes awry when it is disrupted by pirates and Maxon's duplicitous assistant, Carl von Horn.