In 1928, the writer Georges Simenon created a new type of police officer in the person of his detective Maigret. Calmness, prudence and a great deal of understanding characterize this man who, in solving complicated murder cases, does not rely solely on the police meticulousness of the identification service, but always knows how to combine the psychological with the factual. Maigret's feeling for the particular psychological situation, for the atmosphere and the environment in which the crime was carried out, often helps more in the analysis of his cases than the large police apparatus at his disposal. It is above all the human being, even the criminal, that Maigret scrutinizes with interest; it is his interest in the morbid psyche of the criminal who came into conflict with his environment, broke out of the prison of his circumstances, and became guilty. Many of these small pieces of the mosaic that triggered a crime string together in Maigret's reflections to form a whole. The overall picture takes on sharper contours and Inspector Maigret is able to tighten the net around murderers and gangsters in his highly exciting cases. The young striptease dancer Arlette tells Maigret that she overheard a man named Oscar being accused of murder in the nightclub 'Picratt'. A little later, the dancer recants her statement and claims to have been completely drunk at the time. But Maigret is convinced that Arlette was telling the truth. His conviction is reinforced when the girl is suddenly murdered. The inspector suspects that this crime is connected to a murder committed shortly before by a countess addicted to intoxicants. He sets out to find the mysterious Oscar.... Based on the 36th novel in the Maigret series: 'Maigret au Picratt's' (1951). In German, the novel was published as 'Maigret and the Dancer Arlette' and as 'Maigret, the Dancer and the Countess'.