Whilst organising a mock murder hunt for the village fete hosted by Sir George and Lady Stubbs, a feeling of dread settles on the famous crime novelist Adriane Oliver. Call it instinct, but it's a feeling she just can't explainÂ'or get away from.

In desperation she summons her old friend, Hercule Poirot Â' and her instincts are soon proved correct when the 'pretend' murder victim is discovered playing the scene for real, a rope wrapped tightly around her neckÂ'

But it's the great detective who first discovers that in murder hunts, whether mock or real, everyone is playing a partÂ'