Part suspense thriller, part mystery novel, partly set at Cambridge University, where White himself had recently studied, but also at Pemberley, in Derbyshire. If you are an admirer of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, you might surmise that the name of Darcy comes into the novel.

Described by T.H. White as a study in claustrophobia and fear. Police Inspector Buller is called upon to investigate two mysterious deaths in a Cambridge College. The Inspector is able to solve the mystery, but cannot find sufficient evidence to convict the clever murderer. The murderer and Buller are reunited when an attempt is made on the life of Inspector Buller’s host Charles Darcy at the country retreat of Pemberley. The story climaxes when an attempt is made to discover where the killer is hiding—and he has abducted the hostess into the gloom with him.