All is not right in the picturesque village of Greenings. Arnold Ransom has inherited his brother's fortune and manor, thanks to a will written when his brother believed their nephew Edward was dead--Edward would have inherited it all. Now Edward has returned, with no word where he's been for five years, and Arnold refuses to give him anything. Then a local gardener decides to try his luck with a little blackmail, and ends up dead in the watersplash at the edge of town. Then a local nurse--who has been trying desperately to get Edward's attention, with no luck--also decides to have a go at blackmail. But before coming to Greenings, she had talked to Miss Silver about what she knew, and now Miss Silver is coming to Greenings to sort it all out--though perhaps not in time for at least one person.