Barnaby found herself responsible for investigating The Creeper, a man who entered people's homes in the dead of night after the police chief became the latest victim. When one of the burglaries occurred and a man was found dead in bed, the situation became even more serious. The deceased was David Roper, who worked as a ghostwriter and lived with the Chatham family. The night before, they spent the night at Jack Filby's house, who now owns the estate of Chettham, forcing their family to live in a dowry room. After dinner, Philby and Roper had a very heated argument. Roper was a reformed alcoholic who rushed out of the house with a bottle of brandy in his hand. He returned to the widow's house and went to bed. When the second attendee of the same banquet was murdered, the mystery grew stronger and stronger, and the Klipers visited Barnabas in the dead of night, not to steal, but to leave two clues...