A repugnant Amercian widow is killed during a trip to Petra...Among the towering red cliffs of Petra, like some monstrous swollen Buddha, sat the corpse of Mrs Boynton. A tiny puncture mark on her wrist was the only sign of the fatal injection that had killed her. With only 24 hours available to solve the mystery, Hercule Poirot recalled a chance remark he\047d overheard back in Jerusalem: \047You see, don\047t you, that she\047s got to be killed?\047 Mrs Boynton was, indeed, the most detestable woman he\047d ever met...