The year is 1948. The United States Federal Bureau Of Investigation had been formed in 1908 as the Bureau Of Investigation but with a new, aggressive director, J. Edgar Hoover, the old Bureau became the Federal Bureau and things REALLY changed. In the aftermath of the second world war, affairs all over the world were in a state of disarray. This especially true for the South American continent. Into this chaos stepped an truly evil genius known only as the Master with plans to take over the entire continent and beyond into North America and the entire United States. His heartless plan was working! Would he be successful? Seven F.B.I. agents had completely disappeared. Another was found a screaming, a homicidal maniac, whose fingers writhed like snakes. So Rex Stout, of the secret "Talent," -a F.B.I. organization which does not officially exist-plunges into South America after The Master-the mighty, unknown octopus of power whose diabolical poison threatens a continent and possibly the entire world! More and more South Americans are stricken with the horrible "murder mania" that lies within The Master's fearful poison. And Stout is their one last true hope as he fights to stem the swiftly rising tide of a continent's utter enslavement. Time is running short as one after another South American countries come under the harsh control of the Master. Plans are already in place for conquering the United States and all of North America. Can Rex Stout, just one solitary man, stop the madness before the Master takes full control? It all starts on a ship plowing through the thick fog on its way to Brazil. This is gonna be good! Let's join them.