Miss Agatha Dawson, an elderly spinster suffering from cancer, passes away in her bed. Her GP, surprised by the suddenness of her death and unsatisfied as to its cause, orders and performs a post-mortem - which reveals no sign of foul play. But a scandal arises nonetheless. The locals, seeing the doctor's actions as tantamount to accusing Miss Dawson's niece and nurse of murder, ostracise him to the point where he sells his practice and leaves... Lord Peter Wimsey, upon hearing the tale, is intrigued, and mounts his own investigation. Then one of the old woman's maids turns up dead...
