
Mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher - a down-to-earth, middle-aged widow - ferrets out the criminals in idyllic Cabot Cove, Maine, which apparently is the murder capital of the United States for the show's 12-season run. Though while traveling, she uncovers a fair number of killers as well.

Things look bad when a married woman's keys are found by the body in a motel room, and she can't explain why.

Jessica investigates the reappearance of an heir who had been missing for over 20 years.

Jessica is pulled into a murder investigation by a woman (Vera Miles) who claims Jessica's husband fathered her son.

While traveling with her publisher's assistant in Amish country, Jessica's involvement in a traffic mishap leads her to a murder.