Dr. Wayne Edley has been working hard to start up a new medical practice in a small community. He's invested the money his wife, Janice, received from an uncle, who was a radiologist, in a new medical center which they've had built by an old friend of hers. He runs into a bit of trouble however when a former patient, Hiram Widlock, accuses him of malpractice. He's prepared to settle for $5,000 and Janice suggests to her husband that they speak to Leslie Hall, her one-time boyfriend. Edley wants nothing to do with Hall. Dr. Edley consults with Perry who tells him he might win but lose while winning. Dr. Edley tries to find small black notebooks that Janice's uncle kept to draw diagrams of what he found in the x-rays he examined. However, before he can find them, Hall gets them and burns them in his fireplace. Dr. Edley, looking for his wife, goes to Hall's house where he finds burnt remains of the notebooks. He leaves after a fight with Hall. When Hall is found dead plus there is no sign of the burnt notebooks, Edley is charged with murder and Perry Mason defends him.
—garykmcd