Alan Colby reappears after a seven year absence, only to be murdered before he can claim his inheritance. The Lowells have been living off the Colby fortune, and now someone is trying to kill Henrietta Lowell, the matriarch of the family. Among the suspects are Prof. Bowen (who is paid handsomely by the Lowells for his valuable psychic research), Fred and Janice Gage (who live off the Lowell fortune, which would have gone to Alan Colby), Prof. Bowen (who is paid handsomely by the Lowells for his valuable psychic research), Ulrich (who had a longstanding grudge against Alan Colby), Mr. Phelps (the executor of the Lowell estate) and Henrietta Lowell herself (who wants to continue psychic research) ...