Rita Wainwright's love affair with Barry Sullivan is flamboyant enough to deserve a dramatic ending, so that when the pair of them vanish over a cliff one rainy night, leaving a farewell note for Rita's husband, no one doubts for a moment that it is a case of suicide except for Doctor Luke, one of the few people who genuinely liked her.
Sir Henry Merrivale the fabulous 'H.M.' is staying in the area, having his portrait painted as a Roman senator. Although confined to a bath-chair with an injured toe, this does not stop him getting about occasionally in toga and laurels and solving what is too much for the sharp-eyed doctor.