Monsieur Couchet was killed in the courtyard of a large Parisian residence. The robbery-homicide theory is soon discarded, Maigret gives thought to shadows that were seen on the windows of a small office before the crime. In addition to prostitutes and frightened house inhabitants, Maigret is troubled by the dead man's strange family circumstances. Couchet's son Roger, an unpleasant loafer, is a suspect... Based on the 12th novel in the Maigret series: L'ombre chinoise (1932). Published in German translation under the title Maigret und der Schatten am Fenster and later in a new translation as Maigret und das Schattenspiel.