Edward Westray, a young architect, is sent to a remote Dorset town to supervise the restoration of the ancient abbey church where he stumbles into a murder mystery involving a coat of arms. Westray becomes embroiled in the motivation for the murder.

What are these rumours about a mystery surrounding the Lord Blandamer's coat of arms? When Lord Blandamer arrives, promising to pay all the costs of the restoration, Westray suspects that the lord is not what he seems.