In 1933 author Roger D. Torrey broke into the fabled group of authors known as The Black Mask Boys with his first of several series characters for Black Mask magazine. In this series, Dal Prentice patrolled the streets of Magna City with his equally hard-boiled partner, battling crooks, racketeering, and other underworld crime. These are some of the most vivid, gritty detective stories to ever appear in Black Mask magazine, written by one of the most popular writers to see print in that fabled detective title. Volume 1 contains the first half of the Dal Prentice series, including a rare Prentice short written for a contest.