Two deaths, ten years apart, give Flavia de Luce the distraction she needs at a time when her family are more remote and dysfunctional than usual. Especially when a bizarre series of deadly events is casting a long shadow over everyone at Buckshaw. For Flavia, a gruesome crime to solve is only one of the mysteries confronting her, as she begins to unravel the shocking revelations surrounding the mysterious disappearance of her mother. And as she starts putting the clues together, she discovers an extraordinary tale of espionage and betrayal that may also be the key to her own destiny.

Colonel de Luce, in desperate need of funds, rents his beloved estate of Buckshaw to a film company. They will be shooting a movie over the Christmas holidays, filming scenes in the decaying manse with a reclusive star. She is widely despised, so it is to no one's surprise when she turns up murdered, strangled by a length of film from her own movies! With a blizzard raging outside and Buckshaw locked in, the house is full of suspects. But Flavia de Luce is more than ready to put aside her investigations into the true identity of Father Christmas to solve this yuletide country-house murder.