The sinister events which shadow the death of rich and autocratic Sybil Fleming project their full horror on Tilly, her cousin, widowed and dependent, who in attempting to shield her young son, Robert, impedes the investigation. A dead chipmunk and a live snake prelude the malevolent experimentation of a delinquent, and death is again an accidental agent in a household where hysteria and hatred and fear prevail over reason..... A baleful brew- but a sure stimulant.