[1] Louis Peyton is a master criminal who spent decades challenging the law, with the police having never managed to gather any direct evidence against him.

One August, Albert Cornwell takes him to the Moon to retrieve a cache of extremely valuable "Singing Bells".

The Bells are lunar rocks which, when struck by the correct stroker, make an incredibly beautiful sound.

The policeman in charge of the investigation, Inspector Davenport, contacts Wendell Urth to help him prove that Peyton had been on the Moon.

Every police record shows that Peyton spends each August totally isolated on his Colorado ranch behind a powerful force-field, even having jumped bail once for the purpose.