When one member of a mystery writing team decides to break from his less talented partner and go solo, he becomes the victim in a real-life murder mystery.
Columbo matches his skills against Brimmer, a former cop turned private investigator with a quick temper who tries to blackmail a client's wife. When she refuses, he accidentally kills her and it's up to Columbo to nail him.
At his lakeside home, a retired major general shoots and kills a Marine colonel who's involved with him in a fraudulent military contract. A beautiful, easily manipulated, divorcee is the only witness to the gunshot.
A wealthy art collector is murdered, and all signs point to a robbery gone wrong. But the nephew's alibi is a little too convenient, and Columbo pulls a fast one to ferret out the killer.
A young woman who feels oppressed by her successful brother kills him in cold blood and pretends she thought he was a burglar. Lt. Columbo unravels her defense.
Pressured to give up his birthright, a chemical company heir enacts a clever plan to get rid of his blackmailing uncle and take over the family business. But Lt. Columbo suspects the man's death was not just a tragic accident.
An architect kills a Texas millionaire and hides his body, and makes it look like he left the country, in order to keep his visionary construction project financed. But the victim's ex-wife believes her ex-husband has been murdered.
