Craving some cuddly companionship, fortyish Bettina Bilby hosts her neighbors' felines for a weekend. However, a freak storm sets the pigeon among the cats- a carrier bird downs on the doorstep with a tiny load of diamonds. Adolf, an imperious mouser with a patchwork face, gobbles up one of the gems and a succession of shifty strangers prowl the gardens, offending the cats, and bringing in their wake bloodshed and murder.