Jim Medway (Derek Farr) arrives at the coastal town of Seagate to see his estranged wife at her cliff top cottage but as he makes his way there he sees former friend Charlie Durham (William Hartnell), a small time crook turned businessman, rushing away down the precarious pathway. When Jim enters the cottage he discovers his estranged wife has been murdered but rather than report it goes to visit Charlie at his office the next day with a plan of blackmailing him over his wife's murder. But Jim also finds himself become entangled with Ann Corday (Joan Hopkins) who along with other day trippers has arrived at Seagate to get away from things especially as she is considering what to do about her child whether or not to give her up for adoption. But Medway needs to be careful as Durham's sinister associate Paynter (Peter Lorre) plans to protect his boss by arranging a little accident for Medway.