When a young woman is found dead in a rainy square in Montmartre, all Maigret has to go on is a cheap blue evening gown and single shoe. Following the traces of the victim's final days from dress shops to late-night cafés and lodging houses, Maigret slowly builds up an image of a shy provincial girl who'd arrived in Paris full of hope, and who quickly learned how easy it is to disappear. Maigret and the Dead Girl is one of Simenon's most poignant investigations, exploring the quiet desperation of young women adrift in the city of lights - and the fragile bonds that briefly protect them. A rain-soaked study of human vulnerability, the novel shows Maigret at his most patient and most humane.