Murder She Wrote enters its eighth season with a revised production staff and a new central location (New York City rather than fictional Cabot Cove, Maine), but with the same popular star, Angela Lansbury, as mystery writer Jessica Fletcher. Having been contracted to teach a college criminology course in the Big Apple, Jessica leaves Cabot Cove behind to search for a midtown Manhattan apartment. She gets one, only to find that the previous tenant, an antique dealer, had been murdered--and that someone has broken into the place in search of...what? To help Jessica solve the mystery, her old Cabot Cove cohort Seth Hazlitt (William Windom) pays a timely visit.

Wings Hauser appears as Wallace Evans, a policeman turned professor who use to teach the Manhattan College criminology course now helmed by Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury). In the spirit of friendly rivalry, Evans challenges Jessica to find the person responsible for a series of recent campus muggings before he himself fingers the culprit. The stakes in this "race" are raised considerably when murder enters the picture. This time out, the suspect list ranges from a suspicious-looking busboy to Professor Evans himself.

Not long after ruthless journalist Jane Dawson (Jessica Walter) informs Jessica (Angela Lansbury) of her plans to publish an unauthorized biography of former movie star Ellen Lombard (Barbara Bain), Jane is found electrocuted in a hot tub, thanks to a TV set which "accidentally" tumbled into the water. Seen fleeing from the scene of the tragedy is Ellen's husband, Arthur Brent (Bradford Dillman)--who, inevitably, is one of Jessica's oldest and dearest friends. In her efforts to clear Arthur's name, Jessica leaves no stone unturned...nor does she fail to find out who it was who first "discovered" Jane's body.

Jessica's return to Cabot Cove coincides with the arrival of Wayne Metzger (Bruce Abbott), the "black sheep" brother of town sheriff Mort Metzger (Ron Masak). Recently released from prison, Wayne wants to mend fences with his brother, but the uncharacteristically bitter Mort refuses to have anything to do with him. When Wayne's fisherman boss is apparently murdered, it falls to Jessica (Angela Lansbury) to help Mort maintain his objectivity--and his compassion--while endeavoring to clear Wayne's name. Louis Herthum makes his first appearance as Mort's deputy, who curiously has a variety of character names.

Jessica (Angela Lansbury) decides to retire her trusty typewriter and signs up for a computer course. While deep in study, she stumbles across a case of illegal computer hacking--which of course leads to murder. The victim this time out is one of the two men in charge of the computer school, while the suspects include the dead man's wife, his mistress, and the elusive hacker (or at least, the hacker was elusive until Jessica entered the scene!)

In New Orleans, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) attends the funeral of a legendary jazz musician. She also gets involved in a murder investigation--this one twenty years old, stemming from the unsolved slaying of the late musician's sweetheart. Evidently the reopening of this case also opens a few old wounds, as proven when the musician's favorite bass player also turns up dead. This episode boasts a strong cast of top African American character actors, among them Beah Richards and Julius Harris.

Lois Nettleton guest stars as Ginny Blanchard, who is accused of killing her abusive husband, wealthy business executive and dilettante polo player Clark Blanchard (Chad Everett). When it becomes clear that the long-suffering Ginny is not about to defend in court, her friend Jessica (Angela Lansbury) sets about to prove her innocence. Inasmuch as the late Mr. Blanchard would never have qualified for a "mister nice guy" award, the suspect list is a daunting one, including Blanchard's mistress (Lisa Pelikan) and his stepson (Hank Stratton).

While attending a convention in Las Vegas, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) links up with Susan Hartley (Amy O'Neill), the daughter of her editor Ted Hartley (Bruce Gray). When Susan's boyfriend is accused of murdering a nasty casino manager, Jessica steps in to prove the poor fellow's innocence. In so doing, our heroine places her own life in dire jeopardy. Andrew Brye makes his second appearance in the semi-regular role of Ahmed Shanker.

Jessica (Angela Lansbury) is invited to speak at an exclusive club where only men are permitted as members. Despite her gender, Jessica is asks by the club's governing committee to help them solve a mystery involving the murder of a "rogue" member. This proves difficult when it becomes apparent that the killer may himself be on the committee. This episode is chock full of sly science-fiction and fantasy references--no surprise, inasmuch as it was written by J. Michael Straczynski, a guiding force behind the popular series Babylon 5.

Len Cariou makes his first series episode in nearly two years in the recurring role of suave and slightly untrustworthy British secret agent Michael Hagarty (formerly "Haggerty", at least according to the TV Guide listings). This time Hagarty is in Washington at the same time that his old friend Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) is also paying a visit. Returning to her hotel room, Jessica discovers that the place has been ransacked and a KGB agent named Yuri Lermentov (Theodore Bikel) is lying dead on the floor. She has also unwittingly come into possession of a list compiled by Lermentov--a list that will result in her own demise unless Hagarty takes a hand in matters.