Agatha Christie's novel And Then There Were None invites ten people to Soldier Island.
The guests are brought to the isolated island by a mysterious host who is absent when they arrive. Each person has been accused of causing another person's death, although the accusations initially seem unrelated. A framed nursery rhyme predicts the deaths, and the island's isolation makes escape impossible.
The novel was published in 1939 and is one of Christie's best-known works. Its title and wording have changed in some editions because the original title used a racial term that later became unacceptable. The story is also known by the title Ten Little Soldiers in some modern contexts.
Readers sometimes confuse the number of invited guests with the number of figurines displayed in the house. Both are ten at the beginning, but the cast is reduced as the plot follows the nursery rhyme. The book has been adapted for stage, film, television and radio.