A novel of crime in which half Indian Hugo, returning to the house and fortune left him by the whimsical will of a British father, meets the antagonism of English Ursula and Jim, children of a second marriage. Their emotional entanglements, the imposture of Hugo and the murder of the real Hugo, the possible re-willing of the estate to an outsider, lead to a second death, the self-betrayal and suicide of the killer. A leisurely but practised performance.