With the killer at the table: Miss Marlowe

Second-rate actress Helen Cooper uses her beauty to beguile Lord Henry Paget, a man twenty-six years her senior, who takes her as his wife. The smitten lord pours considerable sums of money into London's Savoy Theatre so that Helen can play the leading role. However, Helen is not grateful and cheats on her husband. She also behaves poorly towards her lovers, her colleagues at the theatre, and others. It comes as no great surprise to anyone when she is found murdered at the Carlton Hotel. The police fail to find the killer, so Lord Paget decides to contact Detective Flynt, whom he does not know personally but was recommended to him by an acquaintance. Lord Henry tells Detective Flynt that he has identified five people who had reason to hate Helen to such an extent that they might have been tempted to kill her. He invites the potential murderers to a round table at his hunting lodge in Bristol, where Detective Flynt is present, along with Miss Marlow at his request. The result of this meeting is astonishing.