Cannon travels to the quiet, remote town of Mercer, California to help his friend Ian Kirk who is suspected of murdering his rich wife and her paramour Wade Gibson. Actor David Janssen plays Ian, a writer who met his wife Irene in Africa, got married and settled in her hometown. But Ian's considered an outsider who married for money. No one in town wants to believe that the local girl is responsible for her own death and that of her golden boy lover. The town would rather believe that the outcast is guilty of murdering his wife, whether or not he actually did it. As Cannon tries to prove his friend's innocence, he gets help from the mayor (actress Anne Baxter) but is stymied in his efforts by the sheriff's office. Several other viable suspects present themselves, people who had reason to hate Wade, including his stepfather and the sheriff's daughter.