Hercule Poirot's relaxing holiday on the Cornish coast takes an unexpected turn when he meets young and beautiful Nick Buckley. Though Nick tries to shrug off the bullet that barely misses her as an accident, just one more event in her recent chain of bad luck, Poirot is convinced she needs his protection. After a fatal attack, apparently aimed at Nick but gone awry, Poirot spirits her away to a nursing home for her protection. Yet even this doesn't prevent another attempt on her life, and Poirot is driven to staging a seance with Nick's friends and relatives to uncover the murderer.