Jim Qwilleran isn't exactly overwhelmed by his new assignment for the Daily Fluxion. Interior design has never been one of his specialties and now he's supposed to turn out an entire magazine on the subject every week But the first issue of Gracious Abodes is barely off the presses when Qwilleran finds himself back on more familiar territory--the exclusive residence featured on the cover has been burglarized and the lady of the house found dead.

Now Qwilleran and his brilliant Siamese cat, Koko, have their respective moustache and whiskers twitching. And when Koko starts pawing clues in the dictionary and sniffing designer furniture, Qwilleran finds himself doing a feature on a very clever murder...