In the summer of 1923, the Honourable Daisy Dalrymple
makes what should an uneventful research trip to the
Museum of Natural History with her nephew Derek and her
soon-to-be step-daughter Belinda in tow.But as she
interviews the various curators for her article on the
museums of London, she soon discovers that the Museum of
Natural History is a hothouse of professional rivalry and
jealousy, particularly between Dr. Smith Woodward,the
Keeper of Geology - responsible for the fossil collection,
and Dr. Pettigrew, the Keeper of Minerology -responsible
for the Museum's fabulous gem collection.On a later trip,
as closing time nears, Daisy hears two voices followed by
a tremendous crash and rushes into the next hall to
discover Dr. Pettigrew dead - murdered amidst a pile of
dinosaur bones. Daisy's fiance, Detective Chief Inspector
Alec Fletcher of Scotland Yard, is assigned to investigate
and together they must unravel a most baffling case of
missing gems, dispossessed European royalty, professional
rivalry and murder most foul.