Agatha Christie's Marple

Dolly Bantry calls upon her old friend Miss Marple when the strangled corpse of an unknown blonde girl is found in the library of her home, Gossington Hall.

No one seems surprised when Colonel Protheroe is found murdered in the local vicarage. Red herrings abound, especially when his widow and her lover both confess to the murder.

Two trains briefly draw alongside each other as they race past a country house and--to her horror--Miss Marple's friend Mrs. McGillicuddy witnesses a man ina passing train car strangling a mystery woman. But no body is found, and the police decide Mrs. McGillicuddy must have dreamed the incident. Miss Marple believes otherwise and persuades a bright young friend to help her investigate.

A local advertisement announcing the date and location of a forthcoming murder sets a small village abuzz with anxious speculation. Everyone assumes it's a hoax. Nonetheless, a crowd is gathered at Letitia Blacklock's cottage at the appointed time when the lights go out and a gunman fires into the room. When the lights go on, one person is dead and another wounded. Miss Marple, visiting an old friend in the village, joins the investigation.