At the recommendation of Jessica Fletcher, a young editor heads to Montana, there to organize the unpublished manuscript of the last novel written by a celebrated, recently deceased author. Unable to make heads or tails of the author's notes, the editor concocts a readable volume from his own imagination. Just as he is poised to tell the world that he, and not the late author, penned the novel, the editor is murdered and from here on in, it's up to Jessica to solve the crime.

Jessica heads to the baseball stadium to visit her nephew, up-and-coming ballplayer Johnny Eaton. Soon afterward, the team's new TV pre-game hostess is murdered, and a startled burglar is arrested for the crime. So what has this to do with Jessica? Well, it seems that the hapless burglar is nephew Johnny's best friend.