A famous actor dies on stage in front of DCI Gilling, who is subsequently assigned to the case as a result of the feminine wiles of the well-known actress, Melodie Clere. He finds that the death is a carefully-planned murder, but there seems to be no means by which the crime could have been committed by any of the many people who have good reason to wish the actor dead.

After a long and painstaking investigation, he is provided with the crucial clue that he overlooks at first until a comment by Miss Clere allows him to recognise it. He solves the case, just in time to save her life, and brings the murderer to justice in a tense conclusion