The murder of an unknown man in a quiet English village brings to the scene Inspector Gilling, a policeman with an intense dislike of the countryside and of the snares it always sets for him. He exposes underlying currents of ill-feeling between the devout members of the Reverend Basil Venables’ local congregation and the atheists gathered around the focus of Melodie Clere’s new theatre.

Until the victim is identified, there seems to be neither motive nor opportunity for the crime but, as soon as the inspector has discovered who has been murdered, potential suspects begin to become obvious. Suddenly, there are too many of them, but all seem to have unbreakable alibis. Chance comments from Rev. and  Mrs. Venables and from Miss Clere, though, provide Gilling with clues that lead eventually to the solution of the case.