Three school friends set off for a camping holiday in Wales. Along the way, they give a lift to a stranger but the next day they find his body in a nearby stream. This is only the start of their troubles. On their way for help, they are trailed and their car skids off the road. Two of them are taken to hospital. The other is thrown clear. He then becomes involved in finding out what the mystery is all about.

In this story, a caretaker discovers a dead body in one of the vestries of the local Methodist Church, yet no weapon can be found and no motive is evident. Dennis Newman, the Conductor of the Coatham Choral Society, is disturbed by something he noticed subconsciously when he entered the hall that night and decides to make a few jottings in his notebook to help him clear his mind. There are various subplots running through this story. There is the story of the Choral Society and its run up to a successful concert. There is the troubled life of Newman himself, and Fred Randle, the Society's...