Lucy Beaumont runs into the police station at Saint Marie, gasping that an elderly tramp has been stalking her. When Detective Inspector Poole and his colleague, Camille, return with Lucy to the Beaumont plantation, they discover that the man has been murdered. Every member of the Beaumont family seems to be hiding a secret that has a bearing on the murder of this mysterious stranger. The curmudgeonly DI Poole is as endearing/aggravating in his inflexibility as ever and the twist at the end was quite unexpected (to me).