A woman is dead, and the fortunes of overextended theatrical producer Llewellyn Frost depend on solving the mystery of the red box: two pounds of candied fruits, nuts and creams, covered with chocolate—and laced with potassium cyanide.

When Nero Wolfe’s suspicion falls on Frost’s kissing cousin, Frost wants the detective to kill the sickly sweet case—before it kills him.

Eventually, with a new client, and after a few more bodies make appearances, Wolfe finally has the red box in hand. He opens it up, and with that, the case.