Overview

The play opens with the seemingly innocent disappearance of Lady Fitzbuttress whose husband, Sir Reginald, is tricked into confessing to her murder by the implacable Inspector from Scotland Yard. From then on, the plot twists and turns as Reginald plans to take his wife's fortune and run off with his mistress. The Inspector, who of course "knows too much," is duly shot. But bodies fall and come to life again as intrigue upon intrigue is revealed. Lady Fitzbuttress reappears. Reginald's mistress turns out to be his wife's cousin after the family inheritance, and the play ends with a "police bust" by one other than the fellow who master minded the whole "fiendishly clever" plot in the first place.