When Mona's key won't fit in her Yugo, she tries it in her son's; when it works, she borrows his car. The brakes fail; she goes through the guard rail, into the river, and drowns. When police chief Rash learns that the brake lines were cut, he looks for a murderer. Suspect one: Mona's dim son Jeff, whom she constantly denigrated. Suspect two: her husband Phil, whom she constantly belittled and who's having an affair with Rona, a waitress with a secret of her own. Suspect three: Jeff's landscape partner Bobby, who wants Jeff out, has yelled at Mona that he'd like to rip out her ovaries, and who is soon to be Rash's son-in-law. Can Rash find the killer and keep Bobby out of jail?

"Mona Dearly" (the character played by Bette Midler) is an anagram for "Only a dream."

Rona:
Good luck doesn't happen to people like us. Good luck happens to Madonna.

Continuity: When Ellen leaves the gas station after hearing what happened to Phil, her gas cap is on top of her car. When she stops the car in the next scene, the gas cap is mysteriously back in place.

Written by Hoyt Axton
Performed by Three Dog Night
Courtesy of MCA Records