Spring hemlines for 1924 have risen almost to the knee, to the dismay of Daisy's mama-in-law. Fashion is hardly the only bone of contention between Daisy and Mrs. Fletcher, but Daisy has encountered a problem that eclipses her domestic dilemmas. A visit to the one person sure to instill terror into Daisy's dauntless heart--the local dentist--turns out even worse than expected when she discovers Raymond Talmadge slumped dead in his chair, a nitrous oxide mask clamped to his smiling face. Others may believe the dentist was a secret dope fiend whose addiction took a tragic turn, but Daisy and her husband, Chief Inspector Alec Fletcher, are sure he was murdered. Suspects abound--the devastatingly handsome Talmadge didn't need laughing gas to make his female patients swoon. And then there's Talmadge's wife, Daphne, who was involved in an illicit dalliance of her own. With scandals surfacing in a case that grows more tangled every day, Daisy faces her most perplexing mystery yet, courtesy of a cold-hearted killer who may be preparing to strike again.