Did the young and beautiful Lady Tradescant try to poison her elderly husband? If not, who did? There is no shortage of suspects. His eccentric twin sister Bettina, his disgruntled son Nicholas, his scheming daughter Olivia . . . Antonia Darcy and Hugh Payne face one of their most baffling cases.

Their investigation takes them from the luxury of Claridge's Hotel to Mayholme Manor, a residential home for elderly gentlemen. This proves to be a distinctly sinister establishment, where they encounter the mysterious Doctor Fairchild and his albino manservant Madden. There seems to be a link in all of this to the Nuremberg trials. Did a royal figure secretly plot to save one of Hitler's most notorious henchmen from the gallows? And how does that relate to the murder?