Hiram Gottschalk is a wealthy, elderly widower living in Palm Beach and the owner of a bird store called Parrots Unlimited. And Hiram Gottschalk is convinced his life is in danger. After all, a photo of Hiram with his deceased wife has been slashed, a mass card is found taped inside his closet door, and his pet mynah is discovered strangled - a very dead bird indeed. In despair, Hiram turns to McNally & Son for answers. With his sidekick, Binky Watrous, in place posing as a salesman and cage cleaner in the bird store, Archy feels that his client's life will soon return to order. But Hiram Gottschalk is murdered in his sleep, stabbed through the eyes; his manic-depressive son, Peter, is named the prime suspect; and two clerks from Parrots Unlimited are abducted and their bodies found in the Everglades, both of them shot. It remains for McNally to use every ounce of his skill to put together the pieces of the puzzle - and stay alive in the process.