When a young woman is found murdered in a sleepy Dorset village, the local police launch their investigations. At the same time, a reclusive millionaire living nearby dies of natural causes, leaving all his wealth to charity and a list of local vicars to his bemused godson.

Soon, the vicars on the list begin to die, at first by what appears to be natural causes, yet a mysterious biblical message is found by each body. Scotland Yard are called in to assist the Dorset police as the trail of deception, murder and possible kidnap twists and turns until it seems that unravelling the mystery may be beyond the skills of even the most experienced detective.