''The Twenty-One Clues'' begins with the bodies of John Barratt (a clergyman) and Mrs. Callis (a wealthy parishioner) found in a secluded bracken patch. Local police quickly rule it a tragic suicide pact. A pistol covered in Barratt's fingerprints lies near the bodies, accompanied by torn-up love letters.
Train tickets to London are found in their pockets, revealing they turned away from their elopement plan at the last second.
Sir Clinton Driffield steps in, skeptical of the obvious staging, and methodically tracks down exactly 21 distinct clues to unravel the real murder plot.
