Mallalieu and Cotherstone are successful businessmen in a Yorkshire town. Mallalieu is the mayor and Cotherstone the borough treasurer. A retired detective, Kitely, shatters their peaceful lives when he visits their office and informs them that he knows of their criminal past. The following day Kitely is found murdered and the number of suspects begins to mount. When another body is found it appears that the mystery is solved, but perhaps not.