Vic and Melinda Van Allen are a couple in the small town of Little Wesley. Their loveless marriage is only kept alive by an arrangement they made, and to avoid the headaches of a possible divorce, Melinda is allowed to have as many affairs with men as she wants as long as she doesn’t leave her family . Vic becomes fascinated by the unsolved death of one of Melinda’s former lovers, Martin McRae, and in order to alienate her new lover, he takes “credit” for his murder. When the real criminal is captured, Vic’s statements are interpreted by the community as macabre jokes.