P.I. Gin Ritchey and the other marina inhabitants are surprised to find that a murder has taken place right across the canal. The victim is detestable talk-show host Win Lovatt, a man with myriads of enemies. A fair few people, in fact, are of the opinion that the killer has done a public service. Gin herself is not sure she cares if the murderer is caught or not.Enter Lovatt's widow, the beautiful Lolita. The police are convinced that she murdered her husband, with whom she had a yelling match just before she went home to Mother. They would arrest her out of hand if they could find out how she got out of the locked and shuttered house after the killing. With the help of a fat yachtsman who spied the murderer from the top of his forty-foot mast and a wealth of information gleaned from many of Lovatt's non-fans, Gin solves the mystery, but can't make up her mind whether to share what she's learned with the cops or not.