On his way to visit a potential client in an office building late at night, Mannix surprises a burglar in a jewelry store. The burglar is killed in a shootout, but the police investigation suggests not only that Mannix did not kill the man in self-defense, but that he stole some of the jewelry. With his license suspended and his finances dwindling, Mannix is tempted to accept an offer to be the bodyguard of a reputed mobster's widow.
—aldanoli