Nell Cummins, former barmaid and now manager of the Duke of York hotel, is an institution. But her impeccable reputation, and that of the hotel she oversees, is threatened when one of the guests, a stranger to the district, is found stabbed. Inspector Head, tasked with unearthing the truth surrounding the murder, is annoyed to recieve a number of insistent phone calls from Enthwaite of Enthwaite House demanding that he attend immediately to an urgent matter of his own, details of which he refuses to give. When the truth of Enthwaite's predicament is revealed, however, not only does it have international implications - it might also hold the key to the mysterious events at the Duke of York...
Originally published in 1938, this is a powerful murder mystery from the golden age of detection.