A wealthy woman's last will and testament draws together friends, family, a master felon, and a charming conman in this delightful mystery series debut. Mrs. Arliss was witty. Mrs. Arliss was delightful. But mostly, Mrs. Arliss was rich. And now, Mrs. Arliss is dead. Her friends and relations—gathered to shed a tear, knock back a post-funeral sherry, and determine what loot they've inherited—are horrified to discover that things are not as they might have wished. Only two people seem to have cared for Mrs. Arliss more than for her bank account and exquisite collection of eighteenth-century miniatures. One is her girlish secretary, the very model of a flustered ingenue. The other is Virginia Freer, who had in many ways been a second Arliss daughter. They should be free to mourn, but Virginia has a problem. The miniatures are missing and all clues point to her ex-husband Felix—a man who is charming, affectionate, and a double-dipped scoundrel.