Bernie Rhodenbarr, burglar extraordinaire and bookseller ordinaire, has taken leave of his beloved New York City and gone country. Our setting is Cuttleford House, a quaint, lovely inn, where Carolyn and Raffles the Cat have joined Bernie for a wintry weekend. Of course, Carolyn wasn't Bernie's first choice for a romantic getaway weekend, but his intended, Lettice Runcible, turned out to be someone else's intended. But if you think Bernie's sole purpose is healing his wounded heart, think again. As a bookseller, Bernie's always in search of a valuable edition, and this time he believes he's found it. And it's somewhere in Cuttleford House's largely ignored library. During his nightly prowl, Bernie finds unexpected company in the way of a corpse. The next morning everyone else find the body, too. Making matters worse is the fact that all of the guests - including, (surprise!) Lettice and her new husband, Dakin Littlefield - find themselves snowbound after a particularly fierce storm during the night. With everyone pointing fingers at everyone else, Bernie decides he's got to catch the culprit - before there's another murder. Isn't there always? And let's not forget that book, which has mysteriously disappeared off the library shelves.