"The King in Yellow" begins with a musician waking up the whole floor in a hotel. The "night clerk" tosses him out. This musician knows the owner, so the clerk Steve is fired. Steve goes to an address, and finds a body. He meets more people, and finds more bodies. When he returns to the hotel, an old killing is brought up. This clue leads to the murderers, and an old scandal.It is a crime story in which the narrator has apparently read Chambers' book and uses the phrase to describe one of the other characters.