Much to the delight of the locals, a colourful Russian circus rolls into Nuala, the little town in the beautiful tea country of colonial Ceylon. But the fun ends abruptly when on opening night, a tragic accident takes place.

Inspector Shanti de Silva and his wife Jane are amongst the crowd who witness the accident. Or was it an accident? De Silva senses murder, and soon, he’s juggling with the evidence. Will the trail lead to the circus’s dashing stunt rider and master of horse, Alexei Goncharov, or to Alexei’s brother Boris, its boisterous ringmaster? Throw a string of jewel thefts and some deadly snakes into the mix and the list of suspects grows. De Silva will need to keep his wits about him to uncover the truth in this vintage-style mystery series set in the 1930s.