When writer Mark Endicott, a former prisoner of war in the Far East, moves to the Dorset village of God's Blessing and buys the small, almost derelict Corpse Path Cottage, it occurs to him that it would make the ideal setting for a murder. And before long, one of the village's residents is mysteriously shot dead nearby. Mark's life begins to unravel before he is able to help the police solve the mystery, uncovering in the process a tale of intrigue, bigamy and blackmail, and bringing into the open many secrets of the residents of God's Blessing, including Mark himself.