The narrative begins with a retrospective account of a sensational divorce case involving the wealthy Mrs. Breese and her husband, leading up to a luxurious yacht voyage to Havana that turns tragic. The author examines the intricate web of relationships surrounding Mrs. Breese, including her opportunistic young fiancé Guy Thomas, her estranged family, and her seemingly loyal business adviser, Gordon Rice.
Tensions on the yacht culminate in an apparent suicide attempt by Mrs. Breese's son, Henry, which is later revealed to be a staged intervention to prevent his mother's disastrous marriage. Upon arrival in Havana, the atmospheric city provides a backdrop for renewed friction and hidden motives among the American circle.
The plot thickens with the arrival of a former Russian secret police detective, Boris Sergeivitch Perutkin, who harbors a personal mission to solve an old, connected crime from Riga involving the same individuals. The central mystery explodes when Mrs. Breese is found murdered in her heavily secured winter home, the Gilded Cage, kicking off a frantic investigation led by local American detective Ben Smith. As suspicion shifts from the actor to the former husband and back again, the story delves into forged checks, hidden letters, and secret motives that span continents.
A harrowing midnight funeral aboard the yacht introduces further peril, including a staged disaster at sea and the sudden murder of a nervous radio operator who knew too much. Through careful deduction, the Russian detective unravels a complex web of deceit, ultimately exposing the mastermind behind the murders in a tense confrontation. The resolution delicately addresses the fall from grace of the guilty party and the restoration of a fragile peace among the surviving actors of the tragedy.
