Before Sir Florian Eustace dies, he gives his beloved wife Lizzie a beautiful and expensive diamond necklace valued over 10,000. Dispute soon rages between the Eustace family and the manipulative and conniving Lizzie: its claimed that the diamonds are a precious family heirloom, but Lizzie argues they were a gift. Is she lying? As the familys lawyer determines to reunite them with the jewels, Lizzie resorts to increasingly desperate measures, until one day the jewels are stolen. Who is responsible? The third novel in Trollopes Palliser series, The Eustace Diamonds is a wonderfully absorbing blend of dark cynicism and humor.