It's winter, 1934, and the Orient Express, Europe's most magnificent train, is halted by a blizzard midway through its luxurious journey from Paris to Istanbul. As the travelers wait for help to arrive, it becomes clear that one of them is quite beyond help - he's been murdered! Fortunately, Hercule Poirot, Agatha Chisties famous Belgian detective, is also on the train, and on the case. He concludes in no time at all that the murderer must be among the remaining stranded passengers ... but which of them can it be? The course of Poirot's investigation, the secrets that are revealed, and an unforgettable conclusion all combine to make this "locked compartment" mystery the classic that it is.

Desiree Armfeldt is a once famous and still beautiful actress in turn-of-the-20th-century Sweden. She has enjoyed an impressive career of both theatrical and romantic adventures, which has now begun to fade in both respects. In the audience at a performance in an obscure country town, she sees an old flame, Fredrik Egerman, seated with his teenaged wife, Anne. Out of the many complications (some inevitable, some unpredictable) that ensue from this encounter, Stephen Sondheim has created one of his most beloved musicals - a shimmering reflection of youthful naiveté, midlife remembrance and regret, and a celebration of the love that makes fools of us at every age.