Summary
Highlights
Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings are spending Christmas in Bracken Hollow. The village takes a turn as the local postman, Mr. Thomas Cleave, mysteriously vanishes on Christmas Day. His post bag is later found half-buried in a hedge, containing an ominous note that reads, 'He knows we're finished.'
Poirot investigates the abandoned post bag, discovering that it was deliberately placed. He finds a hurried note inside: 'He knows we're finished.' Constable Harling is dismissive, but Poirot suspects a deeper mystery. The investigation turns towards an old mill lane and the Rose and Thistle inn, as Poirot begins to piece together the village's hidden secrets, suggesting a hidden danger from someone Thomas Cleave knew.
Poirot interviews key villagers, including the Reverend Samuel Fipps, who reveals Cleave's interest in Captain Elmore, a decorated war hero whose death was a quiet scandal. Edith Cleave, the postman's sister, shares a threatening, unsent letter her brother received. Millie Gray from the Rose and Thistle inn reveals a 'time-traveling guilt' connected to a delayed wartime death notice, leading Poirot to believe the village's solicitor, Albert Hitchens, holds crucial information.
Poirot confronts Albert Hitchens, the village solicitor, who admits that Thomas Cleave had discovered a mislaid letter from Captain James Elmore, presumed dead in WWI, to Dorothy Ashworth. This letter, which would have revealed Elmore's survival, never reached Dorothy, who then married Harold Pembridge. Hitchens confesses to sending the threatening note to Cleave to prevent the truth from surfacing, fearing it would shatter Dorothy's life and expose Harold, who had found Elmore's body years ago under mysterious circumstances.
Poirot and Hastings grapple with Hitchens's revelations. Constable Harling finds Cleave's missing bicycle near the mill, further solidifying the connection to Elmore's death. Soon after, Cleave's body is discovered in the mill pond. Poirot deduces foul play. Millie Gray recalls seeing both Harold Pembridge and Albert Hitchens near the inn around the time of Cleave's disappearance. Dorothy Pembridge, unaware of the full truth, awaits the promised letter from Cleave.
Poirot gathers all those involved: the Pembridges, Hitchens, Millie Gray, and others. He exposes Albert Hitchens as the murderer of Thomas Cleave. Hitchens, driven by unrequited love for Dorothy and a desire to preserve the carefully constructed peace of the village (and his own indispensable role within it), confessed to pushing Cleave into the pond to prevent him from revealing the truth about Captain Elmore's death. The village's long-buried secrets finally come to light, revealing the depths of passion and corruption beneath its tranquil surface.