Captain Haddock's mansion, Marlinspike Hall, can be considered a theatre; the characters in the story are the actors in a play. Various outsiders, including a doctor and some gypsies, mingle with the residents. An opera singer invites herself to stay, with her entourage in tow. A builder is forever promising to fix a hazardous problem, and paparazzi skulk in the grounds. Further ?guests? include a television crew, a brass band and two hapless policemen.
