Having escaped New York with the hopes of finishing his latest mystery novel in peace in Los Angeles, Ellery Queen is shocked when a knock on his door lands him right in the middle of yet another mystery.

Leander Hill, a prominent Hollywood jeweler, recently died of a heart attack after receiving a package containing a dead dog, a sight that literally frightened him to death. Hill s daughter is convinced the act was premeditated murder and enlists Queen s help to catch the killer. Now Queen must harness all of his skills to prevail over this unscrupulous mind.