The Midnight Man

Summary

Bob Gilmore, a genteel clubman, is summoned to his parents' birthday soirée, where a disparaging comment about his mother erupts into a violent rebuke, shattering the festive veneer. Later, to spare his mother further anguish, he assumes responsibility for a forged check actually perpetrated by his foster father, extracting a written confession for future leverage. The revelation of his adoption from a foundling asylum ignites an obsessive quest for his true lineage, hinted to begin with the surname "Mor." Disguised in immaculate evening wear, Bob prowls New York's affluent districts, earning the moniker "The Midnight Man" from bewildered police. His nocturnal incursions entangle him with the nefarious White Circle gang, spawning a cascade of perilous confrontations that test his resolve, morality, and yearning for identity.

Synopsis

Young clubman Bob Gilmore is called by telephone to his home, where his parents are giving him a birthday party. He overhears one of the male guests make a slurring remark about his mother's appearance, and punishes him right there, throwing the entire gathering into an uproar. Later in the evening he assumes guilt for a check which had actually forged by his foster father, in order to save the mother's feelings, but obtains a written confession from the guilty man for future use if necessary. Learning that he had been adopted from a foundling asylum in infancy, Bob decides to go to New York to see if he cannot learn his real name, which he understands begins with "Mor." He disguises himself and enters many homes, attired in evening clothes, and is soon known to the police as "The Midnight Man." In the meantime he has come into contact with members of the White Circle gang, and has many close physical encounters with them.