A repugnant Amercian widow is killed during a trip to Petra... Among towering červené útesy Petra, ako niektoré monštrum swollen Budha, sat corpse of Mrs Boynton. A tiny značka značiek na jej wrist bol len znamením fatal injekcie that had killed hier. S len 24 hodinami, ktoré sa dokážu vyriešiť mystery, Hercule Poirot recalled a chance remark, hedge overheard back in Jerusalem: `You see, don't you, that she's got to be killed?' Mrs Boynton bol, indeed, most detestable žena he'd ever met...