Recovering from a gunshot wound, Captain Heimrich is on vacation at a plush seaside hotel in Key West when he gets involved in a new bloodletting. The tip of Florida provides a background vivid and warm with February sunlight, for the suspense that is gathered with telling Lockridge skill. Mary Wister, commercial artist; Bronson Wells, celebrated ex-Communist; Dr. MacDonald, 'country doctor' from New Haven; a high-voltage dish named Rachel Jones; and a Cuban band leader are among the participants. Captain Heimrich is on top form, making the character fit the crime-his first principle in sleuthing, and one which he is given to expounding as the spirit moves him.

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