It appears the health of wealthy spinster Henrietta Winslow, who lives with her pet cats and mysterious servants, is failing. Her greedy relatives descend on the isolated mansion hoping to inherit a portion of her vast fortune. Joining them is Gil Smith, an enterprising real estate broker who hopes Henrietta will sell him the property and his comic sidekick, Mr. Penny, an idiosyncratic furniture dealer who sees a treasure trove of profitable antiques in the mansion. Henrietta's doctor surprises everyone by announcing that his patient has defied the medical predictions and is currently in remission, much to the disappointment of her gathered family. Not content to wait until nature eventually takes her course, someone expedites the process by murdering the old woman with a knitting needle.