The story of four people directly and indirectly involved with the murder of a female blackmailer. The three male suspects are the girl's publisher employer; an up-and-coming writer (Edward Underdown); a brillant established writer (James Robertson Justice) who is an intellectual snob who disdains everything and everybody; and his wife (Valerie Hobson.) The latter meets the struggling writer and, propelled by her loveless marriage, falls in love with him and helps him with his ascending career, with the unwitting aid of her ailing husband. Meanwhile, the police are still investigating the murder.