Murder is very much a family matter when Nigel Cleaver, vacationing in the guest cottage on the property of his brother, Gavin, discovers the bodies of Gavin's wife Annabel and her half sister Caroline in two different rooms of Gavin's house.

Annabel, who had suffered a stroke two years before, has apparently died of natural causes, with the gun used to shoot Caroline close to her hand. But why would Annabel shoot Caroline? Nigel can ony guess, but it soon becomes apparent that relationships among occupants of the main house had been far more complicated than they appeared. And to make matters even more confusing, the Cleavers' neighbors, the Jays, seem to be unusually involved in their friends' personal affairs.

The family circle is completed when, much to the brothers' dismay, Nigel and Gavin's two sisters converge on the scene, offering still further speculation. Matters are finally resolved, and Annabel vindicated, during one stormy night--but not before the murderer strikes again.