 Rumpole defends a Hilda s nephew, a Church of England canon, who has been accused of adultery by six members of the congregation. Coincidentally the judge and prosecutor in the ecclesiastical court happen to be  Soapy  Ballard and Erskine-Brown. The canon allegedly received a woman in his hotel room where he supposedly was writing a difficult sermon. When Rumpole discovers the chief witness had been paid to spy on the cleric by one of the complainants, a real estate developer, he suspects that the real motive may be greed and not moral outrage. The situation is complicated by Hilda s suspicions that Rumpole may be engaging in extra-marital activity as well.