The Sundial opens with Leonie Kuyper attending the funeral of her best friend Roos Berczy. She has always felt a little overshadowed by her friend's glamorous looks and succesful career so when she discovers she is the sole heir to Roos's estate Leonie, an impoverished translator, cannot refuse. Leonie gradually begins to assume Roos's identity, and as questions arise about her friend's past, her curiosity becomes piqued. Leonie's investigations soon unearth certain suspicious circumstances surrounding Roos's death and the culprit, alarmed by this, springs into action.