Moving house is always an exasperating and stressful event. But Robina Mellanby, in her cheerful, slap-dash way, was perfectly able to cope with the ordinary exigences of the move. Her real anxieties were more deep-rooted. To move so close to the home of Martha Birch, with whom her husband, Sam, had once been in love, might prove to be foolish. Martha's husband certainly seemed uneasy about the situation. Adding to her worries, Robina hears about an old man who was nearly killed in a hit-and-run incident in the area. And when another victim dies in circumstances that point undoubtedly to murder, the life in the house suddenly turns into a nightmare. For in the aftermath of murder, Robina finds the whole structure of her existence threatened.
