A letter for Miss Marple from a recently deceased friend promises a large reward for investigating a crime - without telling her who was involved, or when it happened! When she accepts, she is given a reservation for a coach tour of historic homes and gardens. She has fifteen fellow-passengers - and one of them knows a murderer's secret and someone is preparing to kill.

On Halloween eve, local outcast, Jacob Atkins, is carelessly murdered. A vagabond carnie named Dr. Death, takes matters into his own hands, bringing Jacob back from the dead to creatively seek brutal revenge on his killers.