Uncle Martin always had a dark sense of humor. Trapped for years in his manor taking care of relatives he despised, he looked forward to the day when, dead and buried, he would no longer have to concern himself with them. As a last joke, he willed his entire fortune away to a poor relation, and went to his grave a smiling man.

After years of toil, Marion Brand is shocked to learn that her unknown uncle has left her with an estate. Now she will no longer have to break her back to care for her layabout sister; she can finally be happy. But her attempt to take charge of the estate quickly becomes messy. When a body turns up, it is only the steel-trap mind of Maud Silver that can sort out the family strife.