Ellery must track down the killer of noted fashion designer, Monica Gay, who pulled the plug out of her clock and her TV set as a cryptic dying message. The three main suspects are Monica's financier lover, his jealous wife, and hot-tempered son who'd been having an affair with her himself. Each is charged and then cleared of murder but are they really innocent? Ellery must sort things through.

The time: 10:00 pm, New Year's Eve, 1947. The place: The ballroom of the Hotel Astor. The victim: Mr. Marcus Halliday. And the suspects (all the usual ones): the son (and his gold-digging girlfriend), the untrusted nephew, the long-time secretary (and her brand new fiance), and the new business partner (of course, stealing from the company behind the victim's back). The soon-to-be victim has just announced that he plans to disinherit all of the above before the night is out - only to be found minutes later, slumped over in a nearby phone booth. Can Ellery figure out the clues as they play out? Of course, he can. But can you?