Following the death of his father, Harold Jamieson discovers legal documents naming his father's mother - the paternal grandmother he had never known and whose name had never been spoken in the household. Almost overnight Jamieson's demeanour changes from a happy-go-lucky, live-and-let-live outlook on life to a determination to track down the mother of his late father.
Meeting up with his paternal grandmother in Kenya Jamieson obtains from her a copy of her will naming him as sole heir to all her assets. Jamieson is concerned that the frail and vulnerable ninety-seven year old may be pressurized into changing her will as she lay on her deathbed, so he speeds up the dying process a little. The murder of his grandmother was not the first of Jamieson's killings and it would not be the last. He kills time and again in Kenya and the UK as he pursues and eventually succeeds in being granted sole legal possession of his grandmother's vast estates.
Misfortune overtakes Jamieson and he flees to Brazil fearing the UK police are close on his heels. His murderous campaign continues en route to and in Brazil, culminating in the killing of a young child.
Overcome by remorse, the soul of Harold Jamieson contemplates the penalties he will have to pay for his lifetime of serial killing.