 Shots are fired at night from a moving pickup, rousing all the gun control advocates. Sonny Mims has a gun store, which belongs in reality to his wife Margaret who is a drunk. Sonny is having an affair with Margaret s cousin, Pauline Slade, and vows he will ask for a divorce. Pauline persuades Sonny to kill Margaret under the guise of a random shooting, which he does. Chief Gillespie, Virgil Tibbs and Bubba Skinner have a shouting match over details of the investigation. Pauline plays up to Bubba to get information, which makes Sonny jealous. Evidence points to Joe Ed Thaxton, who fired the original shots from his pickup, but the lead goes nowhere. Pauline and Sonny set their sights on slow-witted Gilmore Hodges, which leads to a deeper quagmire.