When young Edwin Drood mysteriously disappears from the quiet cathedral town of Cloisterham, foul play seems certain. The prime suspect is John Jasper, Edwin's uncle, who frequents the dark opium underworld and conceals a secret passion beneath his church choir respectability. Paul Scofield captures the haunting, occasionally humorous atmosphere and the many colorful characters in this unusual crime novel. Dickens' entertaining story is even more of a mystery than he intended, for he died before the work was completed.