When Sheila Malloy learns her second cousin, Bernard Malloy, is doing the rounds of the family in order to research the family tree, her first reaction is to think what a bore. Bernard is a pompous self-important windbag. She imagines his retirement as headmaster from a boys’ school must have come as a huge relief to the boys.
Bernard duly arrives with his wife Janet in tow. Janet is a quiet mousy little thing who dutifully acts as note taker as Bernard demands to see all photos and records that Sheila might have. After boring her for several hours with a great deal of detail that Sheila didn’t want to know, the couple depart with Bernard making the threat to return again. However when Bernard is found dead, apparently murdered, Sheila begins to wonder if his research has turned up a family secret that someone wants to remain buried.