On a cruise trip from Rome to Casablanca, Swiss detective Pierre Bradt finds himself investigating the unexpected murder of Pascal, the young son of an industrialist from Lecce, when the boy is found dead in his cabin. The murderer is presumably one of the other passengers sitting at the very same table as Bradt. As the detective questions the diners and waiter, their hesitation, reticence, contradictions and ambiguous behavior reveal more than one had a murder motive, and certain clues are merely a premeditated attempt to mislead him and misdirect his investigation.