A milk bottle opened, but not by hands; ashes in a fireplace that had issued no smoke; fresh flowers that should have been wilted, and wilted flowers that should have been fresh--these clues to the mysterious absence of Margot Dalziel, friend, neighbor, and business associate of many people, only serve to increase the confusion and apprehension surrounding the police investigation. And still more confusing is the complex tapestry of time and timing which confronts the police as they interrogate each party concerned.