She is invited there by her cousin Robert, a British Army officer stationed in Berlin, and his wife Stella.

Miranda's vacation becomes increasingly ominous, with murders following each other, first on the night train and then in Berlin itself.

Much of Berlin is still in ruins, the Cold War is raging and Miranda happens to witness the handover of secret information by a spy.

Rather, the devastated Berlin of the early Cold War serves as the backdrop to the lethal jealousies and tensions rending the enclave of British military personnel, their wives and domestic servants.

[2] As noted by the author in the foreword to the book, it was inspired by having actually spent time in Berlin as the wife of a British Army officer.