Mrs. Marabo lived in Tucson and had nothing but a debt left by her dead husband. But she is vain and face-saving, maintaining her "aristocratic status" in front of equally vain relatives. One night, she murdered her housekeeper, buried her under the pine tree in her garden, seized all her possessions, and continued to lead a life of extravagance and debauchery. Mrs. Dymoke became Mrs. Marabo's new housekeeper, sharp in words and actions, strange in her movements, and seemed to have an unusual relationship with Mrs. Marabo's neighbor's lover, to find out the truth, or something else.