When Ariadne Caulfield and Judith Sheridan arrive home from the theater after a late summer gully-washer, they find Ariadne's home in disarray, the porch light out and the side door open.
Entering gingerly, their fears are confirmed but even worse, a man's body lies in a pool of blood beside the fireplace, his head bashed by a dripping poker, most of Ariadne's books from her library shelves strewn around the room and body.
Thus starts another tale of The Caulfield, Sheridan Myst.