It was seven in the morning when the Bantry family woke up to find the body of a young woman in their library. She was wearing an evening gown and heavy makeup that was smeared across her face. But who was the victim? How did she get there? And what was the connection between her and another murdered girl, whose charred remains had been found in an abandoned quarry? Disturbed by the situation, the Bantrys called upon Miss Marple to solve the mystery before gossip could spread through the town.