Charles Lattimore, an author of a book about a famous murder trial, meets with his ex-wife Laura at her college, where he is due to give a series of lectures on how to write a successful novel. One of his students asks to meet him later that night to discuss the course, but is found murdered. Lattimore has no alibi, and he begins to suspect that the subject of his book has arranged the killing to get back at him for the evidence Lattimore gave during the trial.