Skeleton staff

Roberta Ellison and her husband made their home on Madeira, drawn by the island's scenery, mild weather and the easy availability of household servants. Roberta, left unable to walk after a car accident, had settled into a comfortable life there.

When her husband dies unexpectedly, Roberta finds that the trouble with her servants is only beginning. Lonely, she wants the company of a fellow Englishwoman, so her younger half-sister, Camilla, travels out to look for a companion for her.

Camilla arrives with troubles of her own. They seem minor at first, but before long the two sisters are caught up in strange, violent events that build toward murder.