A narrative novel of strictly feminine propensities, this concerns Amanda Courtenay's stay with her recently widowed, recently remarried niece Deirdre in a rather uneasy household which includes her new husband, her first husband's cousin, and the unwanted Whittinghams. In the course of events numbering nocturnal prowling and romancing, an attack on a servant, local spy scares, and finally the disappearance of Lewis Whittingham, Amanda reaches the right conclusion..... The speculative, talkative type.