Drew and Madeline Farthering celebrate their six-month anniversary by attending a fancy Regency-era costume party. Drew is glad to see Talbot Cummins, an Oxford classmate, and his fianc e, Alice Henley, though many present seem worried about the couple. Everyone s concerns are realized when, at the concluding grand ball, Alice dies of an overdose of cocaine. Tal refuses to believe she took the stuff intentionally, and Drew is determined to find out if her death was an accident or murder."