Phryne Fisher is invited to an exclusive gala at the newly opened Royal Aviary in Melbourne to celebrate the arrival of a rare, golden-crested bird from the Orient. The event is a swirl of silk, jazz, and illegal gin, hosted by a reclusive billionaire, Lord Sterling.
immediately takes charge, her gold-plated pistol ready, much to the exasperated sigh of Detective Inspector Jack Robinson , who arrived just in time to see her crouching over the body. Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
notices a smudge of rare blue pigment on a servant's cuff—a color used only in high-end restorative art. Phryne Fisher is invited to an exclusive gala
As the clock strikes midnight and the lights dim for the grand unveiling, a single gunshot rings out. When the lights return, the bird is gone, and Lord Sterling is found slumped against the aviary glass, a silver dart in his neck. The Investigation notices a smudge of rare blue pigment on
provide the muscle, tracking a suspicious delivery truck from the docks that seems to be moving "livestock" in the dead of night.
discovers that the "silver dart" wasn't just a weapon, but a specialized surgical tool stolen from her own clinic weeks prior.