When Jessica is arrested for murder, secret agent Michael Haggerty and her nephew Grady conspire to keep her safely in jail while they seek the real killer.
When a drunk is found dead in the alley, it raises a lot of questions. He was well dressed (but only one shoe) and had no id or money--a robbery or something else?
Walter tells his story by way of black and white flashbacks which makes an interesting change from the usual. He has made a tape of the events that ended with his murder and we see the events unfold.
A red hot novel, written by a former Fletcher student, seems to expose the small town's secrets and inspires murder. Julie Adams, Gloria DeHaven, Kathryn Grayson and Ruth Roman appear again as the local gossips.
In a strange case, Jessica bumps into an old friend who is supposed to be dead. His widow insists he is dead and Jessica hires Harry McGraw to investigate.
Eudora McVeigh, a rival mystery writer, arrives at Jessica's door with seemingly friendly intentions, but the discovery of a corpse and a web of deceit follows her to Cabot Cove leading Jessica to suspect the woman of ulterior and sinister motives.
After Seth is hospitalized and diagnosed as poisoned, with an apple Eudora gave Jessica, she still believes in her colleague's innocence. Sheriff Metzger discovers the murdered P.I. was following her husband, Hank Shipton, and found him adulterous with rich Victor Casper's wife, Lisa. Hank's son, Bobby, is beaten up by local Arnie on account of pool bet debts. Jessica ties up all the loose ends.
