The first crook that Mannix put away asks for his help to prove his innocence seven years later.

Cliff Ross, Jr. awakens in big trouble. A girl is dead, there's evidence he was in some kind of fight and he can't remember what actually happened. Unless Mannix can help him reconstruct events, he's likely to go to prison.

While on a helicopter ride to Santa Barbara, Mannix witnesses a man strangling a woman on a penthouse terrace. However, when he investigates, the occupants of the penthouse say that there has been no foul play.