Amateur detective Albert Campion is summoned to Cambridge to assist the Faraday family with a mystery. He must untangle a web of family resentments and discover the truth behind the disappearance of one of the Faraday cousins, vanished without trace one Sunday morning after church, only to be found dead ina secluded stream. Matters are complicated further by the murder of Julia, one of the Faraday sisters, poisoned by her morning cup of tea. Campion must unravel a chillingly ingenious plot, strewn with red herrings to get to the real secret of the Faradays.