December, 1956 . Donald Langham's wife Maria Dupré receives a chilling invitation to attend a death at the home of Maxwell Falwell Fenton in Essex. The once-prominent artist has a number of enemies, and has faded into obscurity since the war ended. Is the invitation to his own death or someone else's?Arriving at Winterfield on a cold winter evening, Donald and Maria meet five strangers who have also received numbered invitations. Everyone has a reason to hate or fear Maxwell - including Maria, who reveals a secret from her own past. But is she telling the whole truth?The soiree produces a gruesome and dramatic twist, but it's about to get much worse when someone starts picking off the six, one by one. Can Donald untangle lies, betrayal, and incredible revelations to identify the killer before Maria becomes the next victim? "Clever plot twists spin the dramatic premise into a gripping tale" Publishers Weekly "Brown has a real knack for historical mystery; his version of Britain in the 1950s is vividly re-created and striking in its verisimilitude" Booklist "A classic English mystery with plenty of unexpected plot twists" Kirkus Reviews.