A 1927 novel with Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings as protagonists. The book was published shortly after the death of Agatha's mother and her divorce from her first husband. There was no inspiration, so the author reworked the stories previously published only in magazines, combined them with the confrontation of Hercule Poirot and the international criminal organization "Big Four", and we got a novel of the same name. Hercule Poirot so many intricate cases unraveled – why would he not reveal and defuse the world conspiracy? To Hercule Poirot came a strange stranger, said no less strange things and lost consciousness. And soon he was dead. Thus begins the story of the struggle between Poirot and the Big Four – a mysterious organization that has everything – intelligence, money, power and far-reaching plans. This time Poirot (and with him and his faithful friend Hastings) has worthy and powerful opponents, who are not at all simple, and to know their names means nothing, especially since one of them changes faces like gloves. Our dear Lady Agatha decided to scare her character's fans. And Poirot surprises more and more. The finale of the story is what it should be, true, with a pinch of uncertainty, but it gave it spice.