Mrs. Arliss was witty. Mrs. Arliss was delightful. But mostly, Mrs.
Arliss was rich. And now, Mrs. Arliss is dead, and her friends and
relations—gathered to shed a tear, knock back a post-funeral sherry, and
determine what loot they have inherited—are horrified to discover that
things are not exactly as they might have wished. Only two people seem
to have cared more for Mrs. Arliss than for her house and her bank
account and her exquisite collection of 18th-century miniatures. One is
her girlish secretary, the very model of a flustered ingénue. The other
is Virginia Freer, who had in many ways been a second Arliss daughter.
They should be free to mourn, but Virginia has a problem. The
miniatures? They're missing. And all clues point to Virginia's
ex-husband, Felix, who is charming, and affectionate, and a
double-dipped scoundrel.