An excellent crime novel which contains a cunning villain, love, revenge and locked room murder by the master of British thrillers. The hero John Lexman, is a mystery writer, like the author himself, and is married to a lovely woman who hides a secret. The Greek aristocrat, Remington Kara is stunningly handsome and immensely rich and he nurses an unrequited passion for Lexman's wife. When Lexman gets himself into financial problems with an Albanian moneylender, the plot begins to thicken. Kara, who is terrified of candles due to events in his shady past, is found dead and Lexman is framed for the murder. Lexman's friend T. X. Meredith, who is Scotland Yard detective, tries to prove his innocence.