Madeline Fraser, radio talk show host extraordinare, had a natural dread of dead air. So when one of her on-air guests signed off at the mike after drinking a glass of a sponsor's beverage, it was a broadcasters nightmare come true. Enter Nero Wolfe. He agrees to take the case, with his sizable fee contingent on his solving the murder. But to Wolfe's surprise, everyone connected to the case now lies in unison about it.