The cab driver taking Mr. Vinton to his destination is surprised to see he has business with Miss Julia Pickering and not her sister, Miss Cordelia. Miss Cordelia, aka Mrs. Welles, has her sister under her thumb. He's even more surprised to find that Miss Julia has written a book that Mr. Vinton wants to publish. When Mr. Vinton arrives at the elderly sisters' magnolia-scented Louisiana mansion, he's the one surprised, finding that the house perfectly matches the one Miss Julia had described in her story. As a guest in the house, he finds old furniture carved with lion's heads, brass cherubs, a stone bench in a rose garden -- all things from the book. Mr. Vinton's mind becomes troubled as he wonders how much the rest of Miss Julia's murder mystery might be true.

Recently deceased mystery writer Alexander Arlington appears before the recording angel in heaven. All goes well until he learns that his death was a murder, rather than a heart attack, as he had imagined. He receives permission from the angel to live his last day over again, so that he can find out who killed him. Back in his home, he relives a bitter fight with his assistant, and is certain that the assistant is the murderer. But when his nephew makes some threatening statements, and then he catches a glimpse of his wife warmly kissing a male friend, he starts to realize that almost everyone he knows has a motive for killing him.