After a mourner at a supposed-suicide's funeral confides her suspicions of murder to young vicar Sidney Chambers, he joins forces with Inspector Geordie Keating.

Sidney attends a dinner party that ends with two mysteries: a missing engagement ring and a dead body.

A fire in the village leads Sidney to another investigation. Meanwhile, a family crisis causes Geordie to become distracted and detached from his job.

Sidney takes Geordie on a night out to a London jazz club, where the reverie is interrupted by a brutal murder.

Sidney and Geordie investigate the murder of a local policeman, and find the killer's motive is connected to events that took place in the Second World War.