An English manor house on the moors: an ideal setting for a murder-and for one of Ngaio Marsh's classic murder mysteries. The occasion is a Christmas party hosted by Mr. Hilary Bill-Tasman, landed proprietor of Halberds Manor and authority on antiques. Attending the festivities are a number of unusual characters, several of whom are perfectly logical candidates for murderer-and one of whom will elude the most prescient listener until tracked down by the indefatigable Inspector Roderick Alleyn, whose wife, Troy, innocently involved him in all these sinister goings-on in the first place.