Geoffrey Hastings is doing very well for himself: having survived the Great War, he is not only working for wealthy financier Sir John Smethurst but is engaged to his daughter, Emily. Hastings has a rival for Emily's affections in the form of Samuel McCorquodale, a successful businessman and both friend and rival of Sir John, and there is no love lost between the two men. Then Sir John is found murdered, and suspicion falls on Hastings until an unexpected alibi sets him free. But who did murder Sir John? Layer after layer of deception is peeled away until the shocking truth emerges . . .