Mystery writer Ariadne Oliver has been invited to a Hallowe'en party at Woodleigh Common. One of the other guests is an adolescent girl known for telling tales of murder and intrigue ?and for being generally unpleasant. But when the girl, Joyce, is found drowned in an apple-bobbing tub, Mrs. Oliver wonders after the fictional nature of the girl's claim that she had once witnessed a murder. Which of the party guests wanted to keep her quiet is a question for Ariadne's friend Hercule Poirot. But unmasking a killer this Hallowe'en is not going to be easy ?for there isn't a soul in Woodleigh who believes the late little storyteller was actually murdered.