Benjamin reluctantly agrees to meet with a business partner to discuss an appraisal of a failing estate, but is not immediately aware of the estate's tumultuous history.

A determined author insists on having Benjamin's old articles from his youth published, but soon after dies in a suspicious hit-and-run accident.

An unknown body is discovered in a vat containing a batch of wine; a discovery that seems intended to ruin the reputation of the estate's owner.