As if by magic, Annette Berowne seems capable of dazzling men from the moment she meets them. But when Annette becomes the primary suspect in her husband's poisoning death, she arouses entirely different feelings. Now some men feel sorry for her while others are convinced she's guilty. Jack Gibbons is a by-the-book, rising star at Scotland Yard. His friend Phillip Bethancourt is a smart, devil-may-care type with a good heart and a razor-sharp sense of people. When they reach the Berowne manor in Surrey, with its colourful coterie of staff and family, Bethancourt is strangely immune to Annette's charms. As the two men delve into the case, Gibbons is sure Annette is an innocent damsel in distress. But Bethancourt is only certain of this: his earnest friend is falling in love-with a woman whose lovers keep finding ways to die.