New York detective Ellery Queen travels to the California coast with his friend Judge Macklin for a vacation at a rented cabin. But they don't even have a chance to unpack before they become swept up in a kidnapping and murders involving the Godfrey family who live in the Spanish Cape estate nearby. As bodies drop as often as the tides, and the local police suspect everyone in the Godfrey family, Ellery comes to the rescue and solves the crimes while romancing the family's beautiful daughter Stella.