She has everything a girl can want: beauty, brains, money, and then man she loves. But Elinor Carisle also has a murder indictment and her own criminal trial. She stands accused of ingeniously poisioning her rival, Mary Gerrard. It seems Elinor had means, motive, and opportunity. As verdict of guilty seems a foregone conclusion, she turns to Hercule Poirot for assistance. Poirot is the only one who assumes she is innocent until truely proven guilty. Only he stands between Elinor and the gallows.