In India, a police inspector investigates a murder that took place on a train between Calcutta and Bombay.
A cast of odd suspects, especially with one of them keeping a cobra in his bag, a rather stern yet smug detective(a role Edmund Lowe can do in his sleep, though he's a little unlikeable here) and a orientalist India with yogis, sahibs, trains and beggars are some of the things on offer - it's a strong mystery that doesn't allow long unnecessary discourse to spoil the rather compact plot. It's quite focused and gripping, even complex, and the set-up and characters are well established before the hero enters the scene. Edmund Lowe appears fifteen minutes in.