An uncharacteristic Bing Crosby plays Dr. Cook, a small town physician with a little something to hide. Outwardly gentle and compassionate, Cook is less politely inclined to those in his Vermont community whom he regards as disposable. When a young man (Frank Converse) whom Cook has raised as a son returns to the community, he begins to suspect that his father-figure is keeping secrets. The young man learns that the good Doctor has been murdering those patients whom he regards as useless, and then burying the victims in his meticulously kept garden. Made for TV, Dr. Cook's Garden was adapted from a Broadway play by Ira Levin, in which Burl Ives starred in the title role.