When Vanessa March quarrels with her husband Lewis just before he
leaves on a business trip to Sweden, then sees him on a newsreel at a
circus fire in Austria comforting a pretty young blond woman, she
agrees to accompany seventeen-year-old Tim Lacy to meet his father in
Vienna. Upon arrival, Tim finds out that his father would find
his presence inconvenient, so he decides to accompany Vanessa on her
journey to join the circus and find out what her husband is
doing. Appearances notwithstanding, Vanessa cannot believe there
is anything seriously wrong with her marriage, but also does not
understand why her husband would deceive her about the destination of
his business trip. Given Tim’s cheerful confidence and reasonable
fluency in German, he turns out to be a considerable asset.
The mystery of the wandering husband deepens when Vanessa and Tim catch
up with the circus and find Lewis March masquerading as Mr. Lee
Elliott. As Elliott, Lewis is trying to find out how his
colleague died in the fire, which may or may not have been arson, and
what he was doing with the circus. A second mystery emerges when
Vanessa and Tim discover that Old Piebald, a horse belonging to a
member of the circus killed in the fire, is more, too, than he
seems. Since Vanessa is a veterinarian and Tim loves horses, they
are as much intrigued by the equine mystery as by Vanessa’s husband’s
problem.
Mary Stewart here combines elements of a spy novel with a traditional
mystery, spiced with Cold War border problems, a little romance, the
eccentricities of a travelling circus, and the workings of the Spanish
Riding School. The result is an amazingly fast-paced narrative,
filled with unexpected twists. The ending is surprising and
tremendously satisfying.