A major precursor of the modern mystery novel - with multiple narrators, a reconstruction of the crime, red herrings and a "locked-room" puzzle - The Moonstone sets out the tale of a large Indian diamond that carries a terrible curse. When Rachel Verinder is given the Moonstone for her birthday, its theft at her party triggers a series of increasingly horrific events that seem set to ruin everyone and everything she loves. In this classic of the Victorian sensation genre, only Sergeant Cuff"s famous detective skills offer a glimpse of hope for the diamond"s helpless victims.