Journalist Nigel Bathgate lets curiosity get the better of him when he decides to attend services at The Temple of the Sacred Flame. He sneaks in and witnesses the ceremony. One of the initiates, Cara Quayne, has been selected to be the Chosen Vessel. As the ritual proceeds, Miss Quayne drinks from a goblet of wine, appears to enter an ecstatic state, and then falls down dead. Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn is called in to investigate. Nigel relays everything he has witnessed. All of the initiates drank from the goblet with Cara Quayne having done so last. Father Garnette blessed the goblet then passed it to the initiates who drank from it with their eyes closed. A partially dissolved scrap of paper is discovered in the goblet, leading Alleyn to believe one of the initiates dropped the cyanide into the goblet in that manner. Moreover, Alleyn finds an old book in Garnette's quarters that opens up to a page on how to make cyanide at home. The book belongs to Samuel Ogden who claims it went missing some days or weeks earlier. Alleyn's questioning reveals very little. Several initiates have a
god complex for Garnette and many are clearly jealous over the attention the wealthy Cara Quayne received from the priest. Miss Ernestine Wade claims she overheard Miss Quayne arguing with someone the afternoon of the murder where Quayne threatened to expose someone. Alleyn suspects this is about some missing bonds Miss Quayne donated to the church but were stolen from the priest's safe. Alleyn's attention moves toward Maurice Pringle, an initiate who is addicted to drugs. Maurice is in love with fellow initiate Janey Jenkins who befriends Nigel and tells him about Maurice's addiction. She believes Father Garnette is the one responsible. Alleyn begins investigating the finances of the church and learns Ogden has a very large financial stake in the church because he provided most of the founding capital. Garnette receives a certain percentage of the income and M. Raoul de Ravigne receives a much smaller percentage. Cara Quayne's will leaves much of her vast fortune to the Church of the Sacred Flame. Alleyn arrests Garnette for drug smuggling and Samuel Ogden for murder. Ogden is a well-known figure wanted for drug smuggling and murder in Australia. He has also partaken in a number of schemes such as the Church of the Sacred Flame. He murdered Cara Quayne because she knew he stole the bonds from the priest's safe and also because he would receive the bulk of her estate through his own stake in the church. Ogden was the last person to drink from the goblet during the ceremony, which gave him the most advantageous position to slip the poison into the wine. == Characters ==