Reckoning in blood

In a stately country house in Scotland, a group of actors gathers for a rehearsal of a play. That same evening, the play's author is murdered. Inspector Thomas Lynley is assigned to investigate the murder. It soon becomes clear why he was assigned to this case: one of the suspects is a well-known aristocrat. Lynley, himself of noble descent, is expected to handle this delicate case with the utmost discretion. A shocking case of class justice according to Barbara Havers, Lynley's partner, from whom he can expect little collegiality in this case. The case becomes even more complicated when Lady Helen, the woman Lynley is in love with, turns out to be one of the suspects. As a result, Lynley threatens to lose sight of the boundary between professional objectivity and personal involvement. To make matters worse, the play in question also turns out to contain enough material to give the entire cast a motive for murder.