In the small village of St. Mary Mead, Colonel and Mrs. Bantry, owner of the local manor - Gossington Hall is shocked when one morning a young lady's body is found in the library. They call in the police who soon run up against a brick wall, only finding out that the body is that of a dancer in London who the Bantry's didn't even know. But how and why was her body left in the library? To find out the truth, the Bantry's call in the help of their good friend and detective - Miss Jane Marple.