[1] It is the sixth in his series featuring John Appleby, a Detective Inspector in the Metropolitan Police.

It is a country house mystery told in a first person narrative by Arthur Ferryman, one of the guests at a family gathering and witness to the events.

The extended family of Sir Basil Roper gather to spend Christmas at Belrive Priory, a historic property in Yorkshire which has rapidly been encroached on by the industrial growth of the town and is now dominated by a nearby cotton mill and brewery.

When one of the guests of Sir Basil is found shot in while sitting in the chair in his study, Appleby who happens to have arrived as a visitor takes charge of the investigation.

Wild theories and accusations fly between the respective members of the family, and the two nearby industrialists, while Appleby tries to pin down the solution to the case which he believes may be revealed by a line of poetry.