As a grey drizzle descends upon the damp errand boys and busy omnibuses of London, Daisy Dalrymple is feeling rather cheerful and excited to be showing her nephew and future stepdaughter the glories of Kensington's Natural History Museum. But as closing time draws near, Daisy and Co. hear a tremendous crash and are horrified to discover one of the curators dead - horribly murdered - atop of a pile of dinosaur bones.

Together with her fiancé, Detective Chief Inspector Alec Fletcher of Scotland Yard, Daisy is soon investigating a baffling case of missing gems, dispossessed European gentry, fakery and fossils... and where professional grudges boil over into murder!