Who, how and why is someone slowly trying to poison to death Irish artist Fergus Gandon? The Irish Guard rule out accidental poisoning, since neither his wife, Nell, nor their three children show any signs of arsenic positioning. Fergus is as irascible as he is talented, so there are any number of people who might wish him ill, including a young artist, Paddy Purtill, whose career Fergus has sidelined. Or could the villain be Lord Kilskour, on whose country estate Fergus lives and works? Some say Kilskour has taken a particular interest in Nell. Or has Nell herself grown tired of living the romantic but impoverished life of the artist’s wife? Perhaps their ex-convict servant, Mosney, harbors some mysterious grudge. And there’s also Fergus’ greatest supporter, his art dealer, to consider, but whey would a shrewd businessman like Arnold Silke want to kill the goose that lays the golden egg?

The usually unflappable Fergus is worried enough to invite himself to stay with his sister Hester Fennelly in Dublin while he recovers. He quickly installs himself as the Irish version of The Man Who Came to Dinner, much to the quiet consternation of Hester’s husband, Paul. Fergus’ niece, Barbara, who has an interest in things artistic, is overjoyed. It should be a totally safe environment for Fergus, but the poisoning continues.

Employing a quiet wit along with keen observations of Irish life, Pim works in her usual gardening lore while presenting one of the cleverest art scams in the literature in this charming 1950 mystery which makes its first appearance in the U.S.

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