 The sanitary workers of San Francisco are on a strike and naturally, Mr. Monk is appalled by the ferocious smell the neglected garbage is causing. The head of the union is mysteriously murdered which makes matters worse. Monk desperately seeks out the murderer so that the garbage of the streets can be quickly disposed. Distracted by the stench, Monk makes false assumptions of the who the real murderer is making him wrong for the first time.