On the anniversary of his capture by the then flesh and blood Marty Hopkirk, violent criminal Eric Jansen escapes, swearing vengeance. Having discovered that Marty is now dead, he proposes to kill Jeannie as the next best thing. Jeannie is dating a man called Emil and hopes they can marry, although she is unaware that he already has a wife. Jansen catches up with them and abducts Jeannie, hotly pursued by Marty. They end up on the edge of cliffs where, exactly a year earlier, they had had the showdown resulting in Jansen's arrest.

At the funeral of his friend Caroline Seaton, Marty observes her brother Donald and his wife Cynthia, who seems to be smiling, and he deduces that they have killed Caroline. Jeff is reluctant to investigate so Marty tricks him into visiting the Seaton home, where an attempt is made to kill him. Due to Marty's intervention, he is saved by the real Donald Seaton, who has returned from Australia to find an impostor has taken his name, married his ex-wife - Cynthia - and killed both his father and Caroline for the Seaton estate. The killers throw Jeff down a well but Marty causes two hikers to rescue him and, as the villains are caught and the true Donald takes his inheritance, the partnership of Randall and Hopkirk -Deceased - continues.