The accidental meeting of Jake Banner and Darlene Dickenson was providential. Jake was a tenacious policeman with an intuitive sense of the pulse of a crime, and Darlene was a loom operator in a fabric mill. When her friend was convicted, she showed Jake evidence that pointed the finger of guilt at another person, which exonerated her friend. Convinced of Darlene's potential, they became partners as private investigators. Ten years older than Darlene, he thought of her as a sister with a facile ability to learn and adapt to a new profession. Together they developed a reputation for solving their cases discretely and efficiently, often without attracting attention, which suited their clientele, most of whom preferred anonymity.