Burke attends the opening night of ""Hamlet"" and later discovers that someone has arranged for the star, Roland Trivers, NOT ""to be"". The suspects include the arrogant director, the actress playing Gertrude, ""Polonius"" (who is in the process of rewriting all of Shakespeare's plays), the stage manager, and a surly Method actor who is chasing the current Ophelia (now missing). The plot darkens when the story of the death of the previous Ophelia is discovered. After yet another murder, Burke takes over a role in the production and puts himself at risk of being run through in order to trap the killer.