An undercover reporter for the Los Angeles Times, Irwin M. "Fletch" Fletcher—who writes under the alias "Jane Doe"—is working on an investigative piece about drug trafficking along the beaches of Los Angeles. While pretending to be a drug addict to gather information, he is approached by Alan Stanwyk, the executive vice president of Boyd Aviation. Mistaking Fletch for an actual junkie, Stanwyk confides in him. Claiming he has terminal bone cancer with only a few months to live and wanting to avoid prolonged suffering, Stanwyk makes an unusual proposition: he offers Fletch $50,000 to murder him at his mansion in a few days, make it look like a burglary gone wrong, and then escape to Rio de Janeiro.