A young doctor and his wife are stabbed to death with only their small son as dazed witness. (Remember that still unsolved case of a few years ago?). A stranger in town, the prowler of the title, is jailed for the murder. (Remember the unsympathetic defendant of Anatomy of a Murder?). A stuffy young lawyer, at the insistence of his stubborn fiancee, undertakes the defense, and at the risk of snarling up their love story, they unsnarl the whole rather guessable mess. (Remember all those mysteries that end, ""Case closed, kiss-kiss?"") A very short evening's very familiar escape.