Marina Gregg is a famous, temperamental, much-loved movie star who has come to settle down in the village of St. Mary Mead. Heather Badcock is an ordinary and annoying woman. One minute, silly Heather had been babbling on at her movie idol, the glamorous Marina Gregg. The next, Heather suffered a massive seizure, poisoned by a deadly cocktail. It seems likely that the cocktail was intended for the beautiful actress. But while the police fumble to find clues, Miss Marple begins to ask her own questions and discovers dark secrets in Marina's past -- secrets which link her to other seemingly innocent citizens of St. Mary Mead. Miss Marple knows beyond doubt that even the most peaceful village can harbor intrigue -- and murder.