In the first book of the series, the reader is introduced to James Mackintosh Qwilleran (Qwill), a former crime reporter turned newsman on The Daily Fluxion.

Jim Qwilleran is attempting to get his life back on track, starting with a new job; his old acquaintance, Arch Riker, is taking a chance.

The paper's resident art critic is the reclusive and decidedly unpopular one-handed man named George Bonifield Mountclemens III.

Qwill visits Mountclemens and meets Koko, a male Siamese cat who appears to be able to read, but only backwards.

Qwilleran rents a room from Mountclemens and starts to take care of Koko, who has rather delicate taste in eating.

Specifically, it's the owner, Earl Lambreth, and the gallery was left in disarray, with paintings destroyed and furniture tossed about.

Qwill attempts to comfort the attractive widow Lambreth, who is being protected and cared for by a friend named Butchy, also an artist and a teacher.

Qwill continues to take care of the Siamese, and the next day, Koko leads him upstairs to retrieve his blue cushion and his favorite "mousie" toy, nicknamed Minty Mouse.

In the course of searching for the Minty Mouse, Qwill finds Mountclemens' stash of paintings, which includes a half-painting of a monkey.

Mountclemens might have killed Earl, but his name is on the airline's list of passengers, and Qwill believes this proves he was out of town.

Koko growls at the door of the abandoned studio, and Qwill enters to find that several of the paintings have vanished, and the remaining ones are highly valuable Scranos.

As Koko runs his nose over the signature backwards (ONARCS), the painter Qwill knew as Narx—but readers had never previously been introduced too—entered.