Plot

In Australia, Jessica may be the legal owner of a valley that the sheepherders and miners are arguing over, and may be the cause of the disappearance of Jessica's lawyer.

All Kookaburra Downs, Australia awaits Jessica, the heiress of her great uncle Eamonn McGill's trust, about to expire a century after his death. The land (the whole valley) is what the sheep farmers want to continue leasing. Her lawyer was killed in an attempt to make her miss the deadline. Mayor Tim Jarvis is blackmailed by a bauxite mining company eager to buy it via the town council. Tim's son Donald Jarvis, who embezzled town funds in his name to pay gambling debts to a loan shark, calls a meeting with Jessica.—KGF Vissers

Jessica Fletcher travels to Australia at the behest of a lawyer, Simon Cathcart, when it appears she may have inherited a substantial piece of land. McGill Valley is currently held by a trust and leased to sheep farmers as grazing land. Eamonn McGill's will stipulated that the land would revert to the town if an heir was not found within 100 years. An American mining company is quite keen on getting mining rights and have already gained an ally in the local mayor, Tim Jarvis. Opposing him is sheep farmer Melba Drummond and her son Roo who want the land for the sheep. Jessica's arrival a few days before the 100th anniversary creates something of a panic, but when Cathcart is found shot dead by the side of the road and Jarvis' son Donald is found dead soon after, Jessica has two murder to solve.—garykmcd