From the outside, the Delroque family seems prosperous and close. Ross inherited the ancestral plantation where he and Ivy had raised three children. Ross and his son-in-law, Paul, both hold executive positions with HGChem, which produces pigment and dyes. Money shouldn't be a problem. However, two of the three grown children live with Ross and Ivy. The plantation house is large; it can well accommodate the extended family. Yet the expenses mount. Paul and his wife, Bitsie, are self-supporting living in their own home.

Ross desires to maintain the plantation and preserve the land. Unfortunately, the young man he hired to make an environmental report drown in the river. Ross continues striving to maintain the property and provide for his family. Viewed from afar none could guess the family's inner turmoil. When Ross is murdered, making his the second death within the year, the Delroque family deserved a closer look.