When a mysterious blonde is found in the Bantry's library at Gossington Hall, Dolly Bantry calls on the help of Miss Marple to investigate it and clear her husband's name. The blonde is soon discovered to have been in line to inherit a fortune, and the investigation takes a different turn.

A series of scandals in the village of St. Mary Mead seem to all revolve around Colonel Protheroe, and he is then found shot through the head at the vicarage. A young painter, Lawrence Redding, confesses to the crime, but then his lover also confesses. It is up to Miss Marple to unravel the mystery, and there is no shortage of people with a motive.

A friend of Miss Marple claims to have seen a murder committed on a passing train, but the police dismiss it, as no body has been found in the train or surrounding area, so the two women begin an investigation of their own.

The villagers of Chipping Cleghorn are summoned by a newspaper notice to the house of Letitia Blacklock, anticipating a murder game. But things become too real when someone is shot dead.