Sixteen people have been invited to the reading of eccentric millionaire Samuel W. Westing's will. It's an odd assortment of heirs—there's an inventor, a track star, a bird watcher, a bomber, a burglar, and…a mistake. They've all come to stake their claim to the Westing fortune, but instead of an inheritance, they get some stunning news: one of them is Sam Westing's murderer, and the entire fortune will go to the heir who solves the crime!

The heirs (and the mistake) are broken up into pairs, with each team receiving a clue. Together the clues point to the murderer. The game is on, and the suspicious heirs try to outwit each other and uncover all the pieces of the puzzle. Bombs will go off, secret identities will be revealed, and shins will be kicked. There's 200 million dollars and an empire of paper products at stake. But are the heirs really competing against each other, or against Sam Westing himself?

Witty wordplay, spectacular surprises, and a mismatched cast of comical characters make this raucous mystery an all-time classic.