 In a remote hunting and fishing village, Jefferson Pike tries to confront Denver Leonard, but Leonard refuses to see the old man. Pike steals a revolver from Leonard s car and shoots himself in the leg, intending to implicate Leonard. Leonard s ranch foreman, Hal Kirkwood, helps Pike dress the wound. Pike s son, Fred, was once a professional ice skater, but was injured in a car accident and can no longer perform. Leonard accuses Fred of forging his name to checks to cover his medical expenses. Asa Culver, the angel for a new ice show, rightly suspects his wife Vita of carrying on with Leonard. Leonard is killed and Pike arrested. By coincidence, Pike s friend District Attorney Hamilton Burger is vacationing in the area. Burger calls Perry Mason to defend his friend and recuses himself from the case.