No one expected good behavior from Marcus Alden, an artist who had always enjoyed shocking the residents of his home town. But to become involved in a murder almost as soon as he returned from a four-year absence was too much to tolerate, even for those who found him amusing rather than outrageous. Can a rascal ever become respectable? That's the question, as clock repairer Jacob Silver and his wife Sarah help the police discover who wants the artist permanently out of the picture.