In the vicinity of a remote town, a schoolboy is killed during the day and two girls are kidnapped one after the other. The sheriff of the county seeks the help of the brilliant forensic scientist Lincoln Rime, who is confined to a wheelchair. A mentally unstable 16-year-old . is under suspicion. Ryme agrees to help the investigation and, together with his constant assistant Amelia, Sachs quickly finds the alleged criminal. However, the boy assures that he did not kill anyone and kidnapped the girls in order to save them from mortal danger. As the investigation proceeds, criminologists are convinced that this quiet little town is a real wasp nest.