On behalf of the jade-obsessed Senator Baldwin, Henry O'Neill guards a treasure none can match: the world’s largest Chinese jade collection. Into this world steps Steve McBride, a determined detective whose partnership with the sharp-witted Torchy Blane, Glenda Farrell, promises to untangle a deadly riddle. The case centers on priceless jade tablets smuggled into the United States by three daring adventurers, now marked for murder by an oriental gang bent on forcing a ransom from Baldwin and everyone connected to the stones.
At the heart of the investigation is a chilling note written in Chinese, warning of doom at midnight unless a hefty ransom is paid for the jade. Steve McBride teams up with Torchy Blane Torchy Blane as they keep watch over the threatened victims at the Adventurers Club: Fitzhugh, Mansfield, and Captain Condon. The tension climbs as the clock nears midnight, and the first victim falls in a hail of gunfire when Fitzhugh is machine-gunned in his car—an apparent ambush that leaves a taunting note in its wake.
The danger deepens when Mansfield, the smugly clever doctor Dr. Mansfield among the group, is found dead after smoking a poisoned cigarette, with the body vanishing before the coroner arrives. Even more perplexing is the disappearance of Mansfield’s supposed killer’s evidence, as if the crime itself were slipping away from the detectives’ grasp. The mastermind behind the carnage remains hidden, but the trail points toward a scheme that reaches into the highest circles of influence.
Janet Baldwin, the senator’s daughter, and her fiancé Dick Staunton Richard Bond are pulled into the conflict when they’re commanded to deliver a $250,000 ransom to a meeting point at the New York harbor’s last buoy. The pair’s involvementHeightens the stakes, and Torchy spots a critical inconsistency: the fingerprints on Fitzhugh’s card do not match those found at the morgue, suggesting a far more elaborate deception than a simple murder-for-ransom plot.
As the tension builds, Dick volunteers to undertake the ransom exchange, while Torchy and Steve quietly shadow the operation. The two pursue the perilous plan aboard a U.S. Navy submarine, where Dick treks out to meet the criminals under the cover of darkness. The suspense escalates as the clock ticks toward midnight, and the submarine surfaces at the critical moment, enabling Torchy and Steve to intervene and rescue Dick from what could have been a fatal exchange.
The unmasked truth reveals a carefully orchestrated conspiracy: the killings were not random acts but a calculated scheme by Fitzhugh Anderson Lawler, Mansfield James Stephenson, and Captain Condon Patric Knowles. Their plan was to squeeze money from Senator Baldwin by exploiting the fear surrounding the jade tablets and the beneficiaries tied to the smuggling ring. Through wit, courage, and a daring surface-into-submarine showdown, Torchy Blane and Det. Lt. Steve McBride expose the trio’s ruse and bring the plot to a redemptive close, ensuring the danger to Baldwin’s jade legacy is finally laid to rest.
In the end, the jade tablets’ mystique remains intact, but the danger they attracted is laid bare. The partnership between Steve McBride and Torchy Blane proves that ingenuity and courage can outpace even the most elaborate schemes, while Henry O'Neill as Senator Baldwin can breathe a little easier, knowing the truth behind the midnight menace has been uncovered.
