Two dangerous and fascinating cases of detective-intellectual Roderick Alleyn! The Castle of the Silver Goat - the abode of the pagan sect of a certain Mr. Oberon and his eccentric followers - is notorious in the mountains of the French Riviera. However, Roderick Alleyn has every reason to suspect that much more dangerous things are happening there than homemade rituals generously seasoned with orgies. And indeed: before even getting inside the castle, he sees with his own eyes the murder of a woman... A colorful village in the English wilderness has been honoring its traditions for centuries, the main one of which is the ancient and colorful ritual of the “execution of Winter,” celebrated on the night of the Winter Solstice. However, tradition is tradition, but when the performer of the role of Winter is actually found beheaded using a ritual sword, it becomes too much for the local police. Superintendent Roderick Alleyne comes into play - an unsurpassed specialist in solving crimes in which everything is not as it seems at first glance...