Sarah Breel is a kleptomaniac who likes nothing better than to go shopping with her niece, Virginia Trent, who is having a bad day when she runs into Perry at the store. In addition, her Uncle George is missing plus, at her Uncle George's jewelry business, an expensive set of diamonds goes missing and Sarah is the victim of a hit and run, so Perry Mason takes on the case. On the pavement near her purse, the police find a gun but, in the purse itself, they find the missing diamonds. When Perry and Paul Drake find a friend of Sarah's, gem dealer Austin Cullens, shot dead, Sarah is charged with murder. Perry is convinced of his client's innocence particularly when Ione Bedford, the owner of the diamonds, claims they were not hers and her estranged husband confronts Perry. Perry thinks the dead man was selling stolen jewels and that will lead them to the real killer. Adding to the intrigue, Perry finds Uncle George shot dead in an unused storeroom at the business.
—garykmcd