A chemist seeking revenge against Hutch, mistakenly administers a slow acting poison to Starsky in "A Coffin for Starsky." Starsky is forcibly awakened one night and administered a drug which, he is told, will kill him in 24 hours. The foremost authority on biochemical poisons refuses to see the declining Starsky, claiming that he can do nothing to save him. Hutch continues the investigation and turns up three suspects, but matters take a tragic turn when Starsky kills the most likely suspect. Unfortunately the man is probably the only one who could identify the poison administered. In shooting the suspect, Starsky has surely signed his own death warrant.