Living quietly in the small village of King's Abbot, sleuth Hercule Poirot becomes involved in the murder of successful industrialist Roger Ackroyd. The number of potential killers is almost as great as the population of the village itself. As Poirot investigates he sees that there might be a connection to the suicide of a local woman, and the death the previous year of her husband.

Lady Edgware has a dilemma in that her husband has consistently refused to give her a divorce. She asks Hercule Poirot to visit the man and see if there is any possibility of convincing him. When Lord Edgware is found dead, there is no great surprise, but there are a good number of suspects.