An ex–Scotland Yard inspector is pulled out of retirement to investigate a murder and a family's fiery legacy in this classic British mystery. Sir John Appleby has left Scotland Yard behind to retire to the country—but there's no escaping crime. In the middle of a hot summer night, he is woken up by a phone call. Inspector Hyland of the Sherris Magna police is in dire need of assistance after a local baronet has been murdered . . . Of course, it's far more complex than that. Authorities believe Sir Oliver Dromio was hit over the head with a revolver then burned in his study's fireplace. There's also the matter of Oliver's brothers. The late baronet was a triplet who lost his two brothers in a fire forty years ago. Was Oliver's murder an act of retribution? Appleby makes his way to Sherris Hall where he gets caught up in a family's melodrama in a household teeming with legend and tragedy. Sifting through family secrets in squabbles, Appleby must smoke out a killer before they strike again . . . Praise for Michael Innes and Inspector Appleby "The author's ingenuity and wit are seemingly endless." — The Daily Telegraph "Altogether a brilliant piece of work." — Birmingham Post "Innes is in a class by himself when it comes to detective fiction." — The Times Literary Supplement