When William Lorrimer is found dead from a gunshot wound to the head, the inquest has no difficulty in returning a verdict of suicide. Lorrimer had lost the love of his life to another man, and he had written a letter to his former lover explaining why and how she had ruined his life. There could be no doubt that he killed himself.

But when a mysterious stranger arrives in the village of Little Marsham, suspicions of murder soon begin to circulate. The woman, who has a close link to Lorrimer, is convinced that the verdict of the inquest was wrong. Lorrimer, she says, was murdered. At first, her claims are not taken seriously, but when she is found dead in the local churchyard, there can be no doubt that this time it is murder.

Everett Carr has reasons of his own to be in Little Marsham, and when he hears of this brutal murder, he suspects that the truth of William Lorrimer's death has not yet come to light. As Carr begins to ask questions, it becomes clear that more than one person had a reason to murder Lorrimer, and that there is more than one secret in the village which someone might be prepared to kill to keep hidden.

As his investigation brings him into personal danger, Carr finds himself in a desperate race to find a killer who may strike again at any moment...