THE STORY: As she awaits her husband’s release from prison, it is evident that Joy Desmond has not lacked for male companionship in his absence. Their lawyer, Bruno Capra, has in fact moved in with her, and it is Joy’s desire to make the arrangement permanent. However, Bruno is interested in money as well as love, and the problem is how to gain both his client’s wife and fortune, at the same time. It is the calculating Joy who comes up with the macabre means to do this, although their conspiracy is almost revealed when her unexpectedly paroled husband suddenly arrives before Bruno can pack his bag and exit. Dr. Desmond, who is quite a bit older than his wife, is also an eminent herpetologist and he brings with him a rare—and particularly venomous—snake to add to his collection. Joy’s scheme, in simplest terms, is to plant the deadly reptile where her husband will come upon it by “accident” and receive a fatal bite, and she and Bruno devise a carefully worked out plan of action to abet this. Believing that his young wife still loves him, Dr. Desmond falls easily into the trap—but in an ironic twist it is Bruno who becomes the snake’s victim. Having once gone to prison for a crime committed by his wife, it now appears that he will do so again, as Dr. Desmond is charged with Bruno’s murder. Believing herself free at last, and sure to gain control of her husband’s fortune, Joy gloats in her good luck. But she has failed to take two variables into account: a persistent and suspicious police detective; and a husband who surmises—and overhears—more than she had counted on. The thrilling climax of the play reveals the truth at last, but in a way which will keep audiences on the edges of their seats right up to the final uncertain moments.
