A sudden, suspicious death in the offices of an old legal firm prompts a Scotland Yard inquiry led by Inspector Furnival. The investigation moves through dingy offices and a nearby rectory, exposing strained family ties, wartime trauma, unpaid debts and workplace intimacies. Central figures include a meticulous senior solicitor, a weary clergyman anxious about his wayward veteran son, the son who struggles to find purpose after the war, and a capable young secretary whose connections prove significant. The narrative proceeds through methodical detection, interviews and the gradual unravelling of motives as hidden pressures and secrets emerge.