Mystery writer Diana Bellfore becomes a murderer's target when she rents an old house on Potters Pond unaware the former owner was killed. Diana unravels past scandals and secrets, despite attempts by an unpleasant detective to stymie her inquires. As she probes the lives of her neighbors, especially that of Ursula von Reiter, an elderly artist, and the dead woman's former husband and their son, another murder occurs. The arrival of a wounded soldier who lays claim to the rented house complicates her life and forces her to look at her prejudices and the family problems she's trying to ignore