
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.

Jessica consoles a playwright (Darren McGavin) after his wife's suicide, then realizes that he was the intended victim of a family member's murder.

Seth's old Army pal (Gerald S. O'Loughlin) is accused of murdering his new employer (Cliff DeYoung), a yacht dealer.

Jessica is in the process of designing a murder-mystery board game for a toy company when an executive (Barbara Babcock) is murdered.

A film based on Jessica's book opens at a film festival in Milan, and the opening is followed by the murder of the film's producer (Susan Blakely).