该剧以英国犯罪小说家阿加莎?克里斯蒂于1939年创作的小说为蓝本，故事一开始，10位素不相识的陌生人受邀来到英国德文郡沿海附近的一座孤岛。他们抵达后却发现那位神秘的主人并未出现。突然，客人们听到留声机里传来奇怪的声音，控诉他们身背的血债。接着，“杀人凶手”开始一个一个地被杀害……无人生还。
The plot seems simple, but it’s the darkest and most intense crime thriller you can expect. Trapped on the island by stormy seas, the “murderers” soon discover that their fates have been foretold by a creepy nursery rhyme. In the manor where they’re staying, the 10 jade statues on the dining table start to disappear as the island’s occupants are picked off one at a time.
故事情节似乎很简单，但它绝对是你能想到氛围最阴暗、节奏最紧凑的犯罪惊悚片。“杀人凶手们”被暴风雨困在孤岛上，他们很快发现一首令人毛骨悚然的童谣预言了所有人的命运。在他们入住的别墅里，餐桌上有10个翡翠雕像，岛上的客人每死一个，雕像就会消失一个。
It’s natural for the guests to feel anger and despair as they face their ineluctable deaths. Agatha Christie, true to her reputation as the “queen of crime”, vividly depicts their humanity and represents how people react differently under immense stress.
面对无法逃避的死亡，客人们自然会感到愤怒和绝望。阿加莎?克里斯蒂真是当之无愧的“侦探小说女王”，她用生动的笔触描绘出了人性，展现了人们在高度紧张状态下的不同反应。
Among the cast of characters is Vera Claythorne, an anxious, guilt-ridden woman who’s willing to kill the others to survive. Then there’s the ruthless, dissolute Philip Lombard, who seeks to cooperate with the other guests to find the real killer. One of Christie’s virtues is her ability to set the scene swiftly and introduce characters using only a few short sentences, commented Kathryn Harkup, a columnist for The Wall Street Journal.
在众多角色之中，维拉?克莱索恩是一个焦躁并有犯罪倾向的女人，她为了活命可以杀害别人。还有冷酷无情，风流成性的菲利普?隆巴德，他试图与其他客人联手找到幕后真凶。克里斯蒂的一大优点就是能快速设置情景，并且只需寥寥几句话就能引入新的人物，《华尔街日报》专栏作家凯瑟琳?哈卡普评论道。
The source of Christie’s enduring popularity lies in her ample research and planning, according to Harkup. Throughout her prolific career, the late author killed off hundreds of characters by bullets, daggers and poison.
哈卡普认为，克里斯蒂的人气之所以经久不衰是因为她做了充分的研究和计划。在她多产的职业生涯中，这位已故作家塑造了成百上千个被害者角色，作案工具包括使用子弹、匕首和毒药。
“Christie’s training as a pharmacist gave her invaluable knowledge of poisons and enabled huge variety and flexibility in her plots. No other crime writer has used so many poisons, so often and to such great effect,” Harkup wrote.
哈卡普写道：“克里斯蒂曾接受过药剂师培训，这段经历教给了她宝贵的毒药知识，让她能创作极其丰富和多变的故事情节。还没有其他犯罪小说家如此频繁地使用过这么多毒药，她的影响是空前的。”
Sarah Phelps, the screenwriter of the BBC’s adaptation, believes that what makes the Christie’s novels timeless is their ability to touch on moral dilemmas. They are more than simple murder mysteries.
该剧编剧莎拉?菲尔普斯认为克里斯蒂的小说之所以成为永恒经典，因为它们涉及到道德两难的问题。这些小说远不止是谋杀疑案那么简单。
And Then There Were None, for example, makes you think about what it means to take a life, according to Phelps. “At what point does judgment stop being dispassionate and start becoming psychotic? Does anybody really deserve this? There is something else... the most forensic examination of guilt, transgression,” she told The Guardian.
菲尔普斯说，《无人生还》会让你思考杀一个人意味着什么。她告诉《卫报》：“从何时起，人们不再冷静地判断，而变得歇斯底里？每个人的结局都是他们应得的吗？一定还有别的隐情……找出真凶最有效的办法。”

---

　　chapter i
summary: chapter i
justice wargrave, a recently retired judge, is taking a train to the seaside town of sticklehaven, where he is to catch a boat to indian island. he recalls the rumors that have swirled around the island: since a mysterious mr. owen purchased the place, people have suggested that a film star or a member of the royal family really owns the island. wargrave takes a letter from his pocket and glances over its contents. the letter invites him to spend some time on the island and is signed by an old friend of his, constance culmington, whom he has not seen for eight years. he reflects that constance is exactly the kind of woman who would buy a place like indian island.
on the same train, vera claythorne ponders her invitation to the island. she has been hired as a secretary by una nancy owen, apparently the wife of the island’s owner. vera reflects how lucky she is to get this job, especially after her involvement in a coroner’s inquest into someone’s death. she was cleared of all blame for the death, we learn, but hugo hamilton, the man she loved, thought her guilty. she thinks of the sea and of swimming after someone in particular, knowing she would not reach him in time to save him. she forces her mind away from those memories and glances at the man across from her, thinking he looks well traveled.
..............................