It is the aftermath of the Second World War and the country is in the grips of post-war austerity. Tommy and Duds Lethbridge have inherited a manor house in Buckinghamshire and plan on a weekend-long celebration to keep their minds off the drabness of the times. After a disastrous evening, in the early hours of New Year's Day, one of the guests is found dead, an apparent suicide. Duds realises that as well as the police, it might be a good idea to call in the services of her good friend Lady Lupin. The Coroner seems convinced that it is indeed suicide. But Lupin is not so sure...
