On a cold winter's afternoon, Alberta Mansbridge waits at a table set with teacups for eight, musing over her guests. The ex-jailbird Barry, the nephew and his ghastly new flibbertijibbet of a wife, the Italian playboy, the old friend with whom she had so recently fallen out... Alberta returns upstairs to get herself ready.

When the guests arrive, the door is locked and there is no response to their knocking. Alberta has been murdered, and with no sign of robbery or break in, the killer must have been somebody she let into the house herself - somebody who was due for tea on Sunday. Inspector Corby is soon on the case, faced with eight suspects without a concrete alibi between them - and a raft of motives steeped in mystery which will take him from London back to Alberta's roots in Hithamroyd, Yorkshire in search of the truth.

First published in 1973 but written in the vintage mystery mode, Lettice Cooper uses her literary sensibilities to deliver a strong detective story with a well-brewed psychological depth.