A classic murder mystery set in a rural Irish Church of Ireland parish. A body is found in the garden of a country Rectory in the Irish midlands. Suspicion focuses on the eccentric assortment of tenants inhabiting the Abbey adjoining the Rectory. But what is the motive for the murder? Property deals, race fixing, art theft, and blackmail hang elusively in the air. The disappearance of a second victim at Christmas increases tension in the Parish, which comes to a head at the Easter General Vestry. Finally, on Midsummer's Eve, the murderer makes a last desperate attack, leading to a cross-country chase and the revelation of the strange and curious motive for the crimes.