This novel is a murder mystery starring Charlie Chan, the Chinese detective from Honolulu. It is set on the shores of Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada during early spring - for the first time Charlie Chan sees a snowy landscape! Charlie Chan is a house guest when Ellen Landini, a famous opera singer, is murdered. The suspects include her three former husbands, her present cast-off husband, her current intended and his sister, an ex-boyfriend and his jealous wife, and the first husband's loyal Chinese servant - all of whom were present in the house at the time.