 Hilda persuades a reluctant Rumpole to take a "second honeymoon" cruise to the Greek Islands. When he unexpectedly learns that his great nemesis, Judge Gerald Graves, is also aboard, Rumpole initially keeps to his cabin. Hilda strikes up an acquaintance with a noted mystery writer who s on board to do research for his current novel and a pair of middle-aged newlyweds. When the wife of the Anglican minister mysteriously disappears, the writer, acting as a de facto prosecutor, raises the possibility that her husband has murdered her and thrown her overboard. Rumpole, of course, argues in favor of the vicar s innocence while the dour Judge Graves presides over the theoretical trial.