Inspector Megure asks Kogoro to help him solve the case of Japanese literature scholar Reigan's murder at his home in Yotsubadai. The day before Reigan's nephew Maihama was to go to trial, he claimed he was committing a burglarly in Sasago-cho when Reigan was murdered. It takes an hour by car to travel between Sasago-cho and Yotsubadai, making it impossible for Maihama to have killed Reigan. Kogoro is sure Maihama committed the burglarly to frabricate an alibi and ensure he'd inherit his uncle's fortune, but he can't figure out how he simultaneously committed the burglarly and murder...