"A matter of life and death!" reads the telegram that summons Damocles Cole, gentleman sleuth, to a dude ranch.

It was death... Dam's client, Horace Crenshaw, has been murdered. But Dam notices the telegram was sent after Crenshaw was already dead. Dam's ex-wife, Daphne, sent it. They're divorced because Daph wrote a lurid murder mystery based on one of Dam's exploits and even fashioned her detective hero on him. Daph has lured him to the scene of the crime because she desperately needs inspiration for a sequel... and there's another reason -- she's still in love with him.

But Dam plays it close to the chest, both with Daph and an eccentric array of suspects. Dam wades through clues, alibis and a meddling country sheriff with his own theories. But without ruffling his tuxedo, Dam finally gathers all the suspects in a room for the solution to both the mystery and his oddball romance with his ex-wife.

If you love the wisecracks and witty repartee of The Thin Man films, you'll love Whodunnit, Darling?.