It's 1972, and while Elton John and Alice Cooper may be topping the charts, Inspector Alleyn's latest case is set in that most gloriously retro environment: The country-house party. A Christmas party, as it happens, where Agatha Troy is enjoying the local holiday pageant and also painting the host's...

It's 1972, and while Elton John and Alice Cooper may be topping the charts, Inspector Alleyn's latest case is set in that most gloriously retro environment: The country-house party. A Christmas party, as it happens, where Agatha Troy is enjoying the local holiday pageant and also painting the host's portrait. The painting's coming along fine, but the pageant goes a little pear-shaped when one of the players disappears. Could one of the party's eccentric guests (are there any other kind?) have been involved? Or--perhaps more likely--could the finger of blame come to rest on one of the manor-house servants, each of whom happens to be a recent prison parolee? What luck Inspector Alleyn is on hand to wrap up the questions into the perfect Christmas parcel.