Inside an old family mansion the presence of too many self-invited guests creates a dangerous situation-a situation which explodes when an unprecedented blizzard hits Seattle. When Nan and Dyke drop in on her friend, Fleur Wales, they find both Fleur and her home much changed. A queer assortment of women buffeted by the storms of war has sought refuge at Madrona Place, bringing with them not only furniture and wardrobe, but hostility, suspicion, and most of all, fear. The atmosphere inside, as out, is chill and charged with sharp, crackling tension. Fleur herself is coldly reticent, seeming more like a prisoner than hostess. Then death bursts into their midst. Mrs. Devins, plump and birdlike, becomes putty-gray with fright. Beulah's tall, thin frame grows more taut with acrid contempt. The beautiful sophisticate, from South Africa, Eileen, resorts to obscure innuendo and dark-eyed Peggy withdraws to bitter silence. The snow brings it all to a boil, and Nan learns to her grief that murder can follow when fear comes first.
Fear Came First was published in 1945.