The Earl of Burford can't believe his luck. Rex Ransom, his favourite
star from the 'talkies', and his hot-shot producer, Haggermeir, want to
film their next feature at Alderley, the family's seventeenth-century
country estate.
Somewhat less enthusiastic is the Countess, who finds herself hosting an
impromptu house party for the incoming Hollywood crowd. And before long
the guest list grows to include two of their wilful daughter Lady
Geraldine's dubious suitors, a long-lost cousin, a sultry femme fatale,
a bespectacled librarian, an eccentric screenwriter, and a professional
blackmailer.
It's almost too much for Merryweather, the family's imperturbable
butler, to cope with. And that's before there's a murder in the dead of
night. Inspector Wilkins must unravel the baffling mystery - and work
out just what a mutilated mink coat has to do with anything.