Hugo Bishop applies his chessboard solitaire to solve the ""death in three moves- but which was checkmate?"" that overtakes Brain, apparently an accident victim. But as he relates Brain's life- and death- to the two women who loved him and the man who resented him- he finds each guilty- in intent if not in fact.... A certain eye appeal, sleek and shiny, but just as set-up as Bishop's chessboard situations.