Richard Poole, an American, and security investigator for the international TransAtlas Corporation, becomes embroiled in multiple murders while attending a conference on group psychodynamics at Ashpole Manor in England. Poole, while somewhat amused by various British customs and turns of phrase, joins his new friend Amanda to help the local inspector solve the crimes, which, as it turns out, are linked by several threads, some of which seem related to espionage activities of WWII.