A murder shocks the sleepy English village of Wellford. Professor Verinder is dead, and the only witness is left injured without catching sight of the killer. The obvious suspect is David Obeney, an unstable man who has only recently arrived in the village to stay with his sister. Known to be openly hostile toward the Professor, David is the owner of the murder weapon and had allegedly been seen on the road to the crime scene that day. But was David's hatred motive enough to murder, or is he being set up to take the blame?