Frank O'Ryan is finalizing a lucrative business deal with Selby Clive when several near-fatal accidents alarm him: Is Selby scheming to kill Frank and Selby's wife Nita because Frank is having a clandestine affair with Nita?

The setting of the story is a lonely country house where everyone meets: Frank O'Ryan intends to buy a piece of land from Selby Clive. Frank O'Ryan and Selby's wife Nita, whose childhood friend Frank once was, discover a document showing that Selby Clive used to be called Dennis Sanderby. When Sir Ralph, a lawyer friend from the neighborhood, tells them about a spectacular murder case in which a certain Dennis Sanderby is believed to be a triple murderer, fear sets in. Sanderby is said to have been acquitted at the time for lack of evidence.