A lavish weekend party sees Miss Marple accompany Lady Virginia Revel to her family home of Chimneys - a house which was once prized for its diplomatic gatherings until a rare diamond was stolen from the premises over twenty years ago. The tenacious career politician, George Lomax, has persuaded Virginia's father, Lord Caterham, to host an evening for an important Austrian Count, Ludwig Von Stainach. Virginia, the daughter of Miss Marple's late cousin, must decide by the end of the weekend whether to accept a marriage proposal from George Lomax or to follow her heart and the courtship of another more adventurous suitor, Anthony Cade. Dismayed by the odd array of guests, including socialist spinster Miss Blenkinsopp, Caterham's formidable eldest daughter Bundle and the quietly inscrutable maidservant Treadwell, Lomax castigates his affable assistant Bill Eversleigh, who also has a soft spot for Virginia. It becomes apparent that Count Ludwig has taken a personal interest in Chimneys and a contract for the sale of the house is drawn up with Caterham. That same evening, in the middle of the night, the house guests are stirred from their beds by security and the Count cannot be found. The sound of a gunshot is heard from a secret passageway in the house and Count Ludwig is found dead in the arms of Anthony Cade. Why is Cade at Chimneys? And is Virginia's suitor being framed for murder? A Chief Inspector arrives from Scotland Yard to investigate, enlisting Miss Marple's help. Together they discover a coded message in the pocket of the dead Count which could hold the key to the mystery. But when the bones of a young servant, murdered over twenty years ago, are uncovered Miss Marple begins to realize that the secret of Chimneys is darker than even she had realized.

Starring:

Adam Godley, Alex Knight, Anthony Higgins, Charlotte Salt, Dervla Kirwan, Edward Fox, Julia McKenzie, Mathew Horne, Michelle Collins, Robert Dunbar, Ruth Jones, Stephen Dillane

Genre:

Drama, Mystery