Marion Bishop, an elderly writer of romantic novels, is dying. Katherine Willis, a kind soul from the nearby village, looks after Marion in a most caring way, while coping with her own mentally retarded brother of twenty. When Katherine takes leave to attend her cousin's wedding in Scotland, Laura, an experienced nurse from London comes to take care of the failing writer on the recommendation of the local doctor. A series of mysterious phone calls and the appearance of Raymond, Marion's rapacious nephew, set off a nightmare situation which becomes increasingly complicated when Katherine's brother is found murdered in a ditch. Deceit, suspicion, blackmail and incrimination are subtly woven into a web of crime which is completed by a dramatic confrontation scene just before an ingenious twist brings a surprising close.