Trama

An attempt to bring a famed stately home back to its former glory is marred when a visiting Austrian diplomat is shot to death decades after the disappearance of a priceless diamond.

A lavish weekend party sees Miss Marple accompany Lady Virginia Revel to her family home of Chimneys - a house which was once prized for its diplomatic gatherings until a rare diamond was stolen from the premises over twenty years ago. The tenacious career politician, George Lomax, has persuaded Virginia's father, Lord Caterham, to host an evening for an important Austrian Count, Ludwig Von Stainach. Virginia, the daughter of Miss Marple's late cousin, must decide by the end of the weekend whether to accept a marriage proposal from George Lomax or to follow her heart and the courtship of another more adventurous suitor, Anthony Cade. Dismayed by the odd array of guests, including socialist spinster Miss Blenkinsopp, Caterham's formidable eldest daughter Bundle and the quietly inscrutable maidservant Treadwell, Lomax castigates his affable assistant Bill Eversleigh, who also has a soft spot for Virginia. It becomes apparent that Count Ludwig has taken a personal interest in Chimneys and a contract for the sale of the house is drawn up with Caterham. That same evening, in the middle of the night, the house guests are stirred from their beds by security and the Count cannot be found. The sound of a gunshot is heard from a secret passageway in the house and Count Ludwig is found dead in the arms of Anthony Cade. Why is Cade at Chimneys? And is Virginia's suitor being framed for murder? A Chief Inspector arrives from Scotland Yard to investigate, enlisting Miss Marple's help. Together they discover a coded message in the pocket of the dead Count which could hold the key to the mystery. But when the bones of a young servant, murdered over twenty years ago, are uncovered Miss Marple begins to realize that the secret of Chimneys is darker than even she had realized.—shanty_sleuth

Miss Marple finds herself spending the weekend at Chimneys, the stately home of Lord Caterham whose late wife was her cousin. The weekend has something of a diplomatic air to it as the Austrian Count Ludwig von Stainach is also there to negotiate a trade agreement with the British that will give it access to iron ore. Chimneys was once the 'in' place to be for a fancy weekend but over many years, it has become somewhat run-down. Except for a maid who disappeared with a valuable diamond in the 1920s, not much of note has happened there for a long time. Everyone is surprised when Count von Stainach says that in addition to signing the trade agreement, he also wants to purchase Chimneys. Lord Caterham's eldest daughter Bundle is dead set against the idea but it all takes a very serious turn when the Count is found murdered. There are several suspects and another member of the household will die before Miss Marple solves the crime.—garykmcd

Miss Marple visits Chimneys, the estate of Lord Caterham. While there, the Lomaxes are visited by Count Ludwig Von Stainach. That evening the Count is found dying in the estate's secret passage, with Cade, one of the young guests, standing over him. Suspicion falls on Cade but it doesn't seem so cut and dried. Inspector Finch of Scotland Yard is soon on the case, assisted by Miss Marple. An event at the estate 23 years earlier may have a very large bearing on the case.—grantss