At a retirement reception for their headmistress, twenty-year-old Gillie Brayton is swept away by the wealthy Rita Fayre to work for her in London. Gillie's job is to accompany Rita's convalescent husband, but a shocking tragedy reveals the motive behind her employment: murder. Gathered at the country residence of Madame Zoffany, an aging star of the French stage, are her ward, both grandsons who stand to inherit her fortune, and her longtime servants. And though they are all used to Zoff's theatrics, it still comes as a surprise when the grande dame takes her final curtain call--and the spotlight of suspicion shines on them all . . . "Margery Allingham deserves to be rediscovered." --P. D. James, -bestselling author "The best of mystery writers." -- "Don't start reading these books unless you are confident that you can handle addiction." -- "One of the finest Golden-Age crime novelists." --