Ten strangers are lured to an isolated island under false pretenses, only to be accused of past crimes and systematically murdered according to the lines of a sinister nursery rhyme. The protagonist group, a disparate collection of individuals with hidden secrets, finds themselves trapped by a storm and an unseen killer who executes them one by one. As the body count rises, the survivors descend into paranoia and suspicion, struggling to identify the culprit among them before they are all eliminated. The narrative employs a third-person limited perspective that shifts between characters, heightening the sense of isolation and psychological unraveling within the confined setting of Soldier Island.

This novel is widely regarded as one of the most significant contributions to the mystery genre, frequently appearing on lists of the greatest crime novels of all time. Critics and readers alike praise the technical precision of its plot and the chilling effectiveness of its isolated setting. In 2015, a global vote sponsored by the author's estate named it the world's favorite Agatha Christie novel, cementing its status as a cultural touchstone. The work remains a primary example of the closed-circle mystery, demonstrating the author's ability to manipulate reader expectations through structural ingenuity.