"As he dropped the last grisly fragment of the dismembered and mutilated body into the small vat of nitric acid that was to devour every trace of the horrid evidence which might easily send him to the gallows, the man sank weakly into a chair and throwing his body forward upon his great, teak desk buried his face in his arms, breaking into dry, moaning sobs." Professor Maxon had set off to a secluded island to proceed in an experiment -- the creation of HUMAN life -- so that his daughter, Virginia, could marry the perfect man. His ultimate project -- Number Thirteen -- exceeded his wildest expectation. But the other twelve examples of his work -- the "monster men" of the title -- leave much to be desired. And much too much for Professor Maxon, his daughter, and perhaps even "Number Thirteen" . . .