A Canterbury Tale

The trio arrives at Chillingbourne railway station late on Friday night (27 August 1943). As they leave the station, Alison is attacked by a uniformed glue man who pours glue in her hair, revealing a pattern of similar assaults on other local women. The incident hints at a local mystery that will drive the weekend's investigation.

Alison asks Bob to spend the weekend in Chillingbourne to help solve the mystery, and Peter and Gibbs agree to join the effort. The trio plans to investigate the glue attacks and involve sympathetic locals.

While riding a farm cart in the countryside, Alison meets Peter, who surrounds her cart with his platoon of three Bren Gun Carriers. They agree to meet again, starting their plan to work together.

The three recruit locals, including several boys who stage large-scale war games, to aid their investigation and provide on-the-ground observers. These allies help track the glue attacks and spread word through the town.

Alison interviews all the known victims of the glue man to identify the dates and times of each attack, building a timeline of events. Her interviews pull together small details that had previously gone unnoticed.

Gibbs visits Colpeper at his home and steals the fire watch roster, listing the nights Colpeper was on duty in the town hall. This crucial clue helps tie the crime pattern to Colpeper's schedule.

A salvage paper drive run by Johnson's boy commandos yields receipts for gum used to make the glue, which had been sold to Colpeper. The discovery links Colpeper directly to the glue attacks.

With the dates of the attacks matching Colpeper's night watches, the trio builds a case against the local magistrate. They begin to realize the pattern fits his routine and role in the community.

On Monday morning, while on their journey to Canterbury, Colpeper unexpectedly boards the compartment with the trio. The unexpected presence heightens the tension as they prepare to confront him in the city.

In Canterbury, they confront Colpeper and he does not fully deny the charges, revealing a motive to keep soldiers from being distracted by female company and to keep local women faithful to their absent boyfriends. The revelation solidifies the case against him.

Canterbury is depicted as bomb-damaged and desolate as the trio arrives, yet they also receive blessings of their own for facing the case. The moment marks a turning point for the three young figures.

Alison learns that her boyfriend has survived the war, and his father relents and allows their marriage; Bob receives long-delayed letters from his sweetheart in Australia.

Peter, a cinema organist before the war, plays Bach on the great Canterbury Cathedral organ, offering a moment of grace before departure. The music anchors the group's sense of closure.

Peter decides not to report Colpeper to Canterbury police, and the trio leaves with their unit, choosing quiet resolution over formal punishment. They move on from Chillingbourne with a shared sense of closure and trust.