Deciding she's earned a vacation, Jessica Fletcher takes a train to Columbia, South Carolina, to visit her old college friend, Dolores, who has recently married her third husband, Willis Nickens, a cutthroat businessman. But the morning after she arrives, Jessica discovers Willis face-down in the koi pond, and despite what the police think, she's sure foul play is involved. She hadn't known Willis long, but it's clear to her that he didn't concern himself with making friends—and he made a deadly enemy.