The scene is set in the dining car of the Leyton Orient Express for the inaugural journey of a new luxury train travelling from east London to Aberdeen in Scotland. It is 1930 and Lord Eton-Mess has provided a considerable fortune to his trailblazing protégée, the young female Scottish engineer, Miss Wee Winnie Wallace who designed the ground breaking vehicle. In May of 1928, the Flying Scotsman had taken the London to Edinburgh route for the first time and the company is optimistic that their project will rival the best in the world. Lord and Lady Eton-Mess have been joined on the historic trip by their ward, Jock Strap and his latest dalliance: society beauty Silly Billy Leggs-Upp. Pastor Salt, who is a close family friend, and the young journalist Miss Agatha Frisky are also in attendance. However, it soon becomes clear that the Leyton Orient Express is not destined for quite the success they planned, just as a corpse is discovered by one of the guests. The veneer of glamour is wearing thin. Will you uncover who is responsible for Murder on the Leyton Orient Express?
Characters
Lord Eton-Mess
Lord Bertram (Blotto) Eton-Mess is a wealthy aristocrat and the proud backer of the (doomed) Leyton Orient Express. But the luxury train project was entirely his wife's idea now she is losing interest It has been said that he has a roving eye and an interest in young ladies.
Pastor Salt
An old family friend of Lord and Lady Eton-Mess, he went into the church after failing to make the grade as a first class cricketer. He feels like he is in the shadow of his former school friend, which can make you a little pompous when trying to compensate.
Silly Billy Leggs-Upp
A young, socialite flapper who has come on board with Jock Strap, the handsome young ward of Lord Eton-Mess. The kind and good-natured Jock Strap, recently moved from his father’s estate in Scotland and is unaware of her reputation.
Agatha Frisky
As her name suggests, she is a writer of crime fiction. But she has come on board the inaugural journey of the Leyton Orient Express by pretending to Lady Eton-Mess that she is writing an article on the historic journey for a popular magazine called The Lady Times. In fact, she is researching for a crime novel she is writing about murder on a train.
Jock Strap
A young Scottish gentleman of good breeding whose father fell on hard times. He is the ward of Lord Bertram Eton-Mess, a substantial part of whose vast fortune has been invested in the new luxury steam train.
Wee Winnie Wallace
A young Scottish lady known far and wide across the British Isles and much admired. Emmeline Pankhurst was her late great-aunt and she's inherited her fire and passion for driving forward the course of female advancement. As such, she is the first feted female engineer to design a steam engine and the Leyton Orient Express is her opportunity to have global success.