Dian Hunter, the controlling partner of a men's magazine, disappears. She was supposed to fly to England to sell her interest to a U.K. businessman, Sir Harry Matthews. That will mean the end for Sean Brantley, the Hugh Hefner-like front man for the magazine, who only owns 49 percent. Columbo is on the case and quickly zeroes in on Brantley as his main suspect, finding a number of inconsistencies in Brantley's story. The dogged detective bears down on Brantley but, for once, he has been fooled. Brantley's partner turns up alive -- it was all a planned publicity stunt. However, the partner now plans to sell her interest in the magazine to Sir Harry for even more than before. Brantley can't permit that and, when Dian turns up missing a second time, Columbo faces a problem. He's like the boy who cried wolf, making it very difficult to nail Brantley.

In "Columbo Cries Wolf", Columbo suspects the murder of a Los Angeles woman who failed to arrive at an important meeting in London. Columbo says he is investigating the disappearance as a favor to his old friend, Detective Chief Superintendent Durk of Scotland Yard, a character from Columbo: Dagger of the Mind (1972) (TV).

Factual errors: The postcard that Diane sent from Milan has an English postage stamp on it.

by Mike Post