The story takes place in a picturesque English village in the 1950s. The peaceful life of a young vicar named Sidney Chambers is dramatically changed when one of his parishioners dies under very strange circumstances. The charismatic hero decides to start his own investigation, with the perpetually busy detective Geordie Keating as his partner. Keating's somewhat rough methods are complemented by Chambers' brilliant intuition, which allows him to easily gather information from potential suspects.