Ian Carmichael stars as Lord Peter Wimsey in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation
In a shocking scandal, the like of which has not been seen in the English aristocracy since the eighteenth century, Lord Peter Wimsey's elder brother the Duke of Denver stands accused of murder.

 

While hosting a shooting party at Riddlesdale Hall, he was found in the middle of the night, standing over the body of his sister's fiance who had been shot through the heart. The Duke refused to provide an alibi, and was subsequently arrested.

Lord Peter is determined to prove his brother's innocence, yet finds him strangely uncooperative. Furthermore, other family members apparently oppose Peter's attempts to get to the truth. His sister Lady Mary seems to know more than she is letting on — could the Duke be protecting her? In collaboration with Inspector Parker, Wimsey slowly uncovers a web of lies and deceit within his own family, and finds himself faced with the unhappy alternative of sending either his brother or his sister to the gallows. Until he himself becomes a target...

Patricia Routledge plays the Dowager Duchess in this classic dramatisation, alongside Maria Aitken as Lady Mary and Miriam Margolyes as Mrs Hardraw.