A Christmas pageant turns unholy. Holed up at Hilary Bill-Tasman"s manor estate for Christmas, Troy Alleyn is to paint the man"s portrait and, while she"s there, view the Druid Christmas pageant. Along with a pack of eccentric guests, Troy enjoys the festivities-- until one of the pageant"s players mysteriously disappears into the snowy night. Did the hired help-- each a paroled murderer from the nearby prison-- have a deadly hand in this Christmas conundrum? Inspector Roderick Alleyn arrives to join his wife in finding the lost man-- and unraveling the glaring truth from the glittering tinsel.