A thought-provoking mystery unfolds in a small coastal Dutch town after a host's private party ends in murder.

A French professor is staying in a coastal Dutch town while on a lecture tour—but when his host is murdered, he's held for questioning as the prime suspect. Maigret's assistance is requested, so he travels to the northeast of Holland, where he meets the attendees of a small private gathering the week before: Beetje, the coquettish daughter of a local farmer; Madame Popinga, the victim's wife; Any Van Elst, her sister and a prospective lawyer; and Cornelius, a student at the Naval College; among a few others. While some are content blaming the outsider in their midst, Maigret senses something more enigmatic at play. Why does Conrad Popinga walk Beetje home every night she visits? What does the local crook Oosting know—and why was his cap found in the Popingas' bathroom, one of the only rooms that overlooks the crime scene? In a town this small, Maigret knows its inhabitants know more than they claim.