George Winterton was known to throw a killer New Year's Eve party, and this year's was no different. The wealthy and prominent citizen of the seaside town of Redbury is found at the foot of a cliff near the ocean after having been apparently pushed. Detective Superintendent Roper wastes no time in interviewing the party guests and quickly learns that, with his great wealth and sadistic lust for power, Winterton was disliked by most and hated by some in town. But when the man who found the body becomes a corpse himself, Roper develops a theory that leads him to a killer.