Sarah Kelling is a recently widowed young woman who is desperately trying to make ends meet when she is left almost penniless. Until the bank sorts out her finances, she decides to convert the gracious old family home she has inherited into a genteel boarding house for ladies and gentlemen who would appreciate the ambience in living in one of the former great houses of Boston. The largest of her rooms, the former drawing room which used to be called the withdrawing room, was were the ladies were sent to drink tea and gossip after dinner, while the gentlemen drank their port and brandy and smoked cigars. This is let out to a bumptious little man who comes with references from a family member, but who turns out to be such a pain in the neck that it's almost a relief when he falls under a subway train. The room is then snapped up by a man who claims to be an antiques expert with international connections. When his body is found in the local park, apparently the victim of a mugger, after only a few days of residence, Sarah begins to seriously question all of these happenings as being just TOO coincidental and asks a friend to help with an investigation. There are a few red herrings introduced by way of the other guests but, by and large, it's a tiny, read in a day, bit of gentle fun which would be ideal for a plane trip.
