An Inspector Mallett mystery - Inspector Mallett's stay at the country house hotel of Pendlebury Old Hall has been a disappointment. Room, food and service have been a letdown and he eagerly anticipates the end of his holiday. His last trial is to sit and listen as the hotel boor, whose family once owned the house, sits down at his table. The next day the man is dead and Mallett unwittingly finds himself investigating the suspicious 'suicide'.