Shrewd, scruffy, and personable L.A. homicide detective Lieutenant Colombo questions a suspect and his girlfriend to find out what they were doing at particular times of the weekend. They don't know, however, that he’s withholding certain evidence that could prove whether or not they’re telling the truth.

In this film, which stars Julianne Moore and Nathan Lane, an English teacher's life is disrupted when a former student returns to her small town after failing as a playwright in New York.