The multi-million dollar Phoenix, prototype for a revolutionary new car, disappears from a non-stop train en route to Boston - flat-car included. Banacek is called in to find the missing vehicle before a huge insurance claim must be paid.
Banacek gets the call when a revolutionary new car - the Phoenix - (and the flatcar to which it was attached) disappear from a moving train en route to Boston. While a business rival may be responsible, a hateful investigation rival tries to beat Banacek to the punch in solving this mystery. Key to figuring it out seems to be the poor treatment of a beautiful lady engineer and the "accidental" death of a hobo.—statmanjeff