Sir Charles Cartwright has retired from acting and lives away from the public eye in Cornwall. He plans a dinner party whose guests include Hercule Poirot and Egg - Hermione Gore - that has caught Cartwright's eye. During dinner, Reverend Babbington dies after taking a sip from a cocktail but an analysis reveals there was no poison in it. Some days later, a friend of Cartwright hosts a party with almost the same guests and the same tragedy occurs. Poirot learns of this new death while on holiday and returns with Cartwright to investigate the matter.

I was expecting the killer but I was not expecting the reasons behind the first crime and that made me enjoy the story even more. Christie knew how to tangle the past, present and future in a deadly way!