When General Fentiman is found dead in his chair a the posh Bellona Club, the cause seems straightforward: a heart attack brought on by old age. The Lady Dorland, the General's sister, dies on the same day. Is it a startling coincidence or something more sinister? Called in to investigate, Lord Peter becomes suspicious of the general's grandson, whose peculiar behavior and whereabouts on the night of the deaths seem incriminating. But these suspicions are overshadowed by the discovery that Miss Dorland, Lady Dorland's niece, has an abiding interest in poisons.

当贝罗那俱乐部的一位更受人尊敬的成员在阅览室去世时，彼得·温西勋爵被带进来决定死亡时间，以备遗嘱之用。但他调查得越多，事情就越复杂