When Peggy Shannon (Piper Laurie) welcomes dear old friend Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) to visit Desert Palms, California, disagreements and murder do not lag very far behind.
Singer Johnny Shannon (Ed Ames) and his loyal friend and warm-up act, Comedian Buster Bailey (Joey Bishop), and Johnny's Bodyguard, Lou Ross (Jack O'Halloran) share the high-surveillance ranch house as comrades with mob ties.
Son, Mickey Shannon (Joseph Bottoms), and daughter, Terry Shannon (Linda Purl), also share the one-story residence, into which Terry sneaks for the night Vic LaRosa (Joseph Cali), who also has ties to organized crime.
Near the tennis courts at the Desert Palms Country Club, Johnny openly disapproves of his daughter's associating with Vic LaRosa, much to Terry's dismay and objection, while Chico Miller (David Bowman) and Gus (John Miranda) also exchange anything but pleasantries with Johnny.
Detective Sergeant Barnes (Ken Howard) is often called upon as a Shannon family friend to referee among various mêlées, including a murder investigation after Buster Bailey discovers a body in the den the next morning.
Jessica conducts an investigation of her own amid clues regarding the surveillance system and an altercation near the border crossing when one of the suspects attempts to flee the country.
The cast is rounded out by Mark Costello as CHP Officer, Fred Ponzlov as Waiter, and Michael Griswold as Guard, in this "Murder at the Oasis." Joey Bishop, who has been acting in film and, especially on television, since 1950, has unfortunately since passed.
