The plan of restaurant owner Pratt is cruel but effective for marketing: he has bought the most famous breeding bull in the USA to serve it to his guests as steak. Before Pratt can put his plan into action, an animal rights activist is found dead in the pasture. The suspicion immediately falls on the bull. However, Nero Wolfe is convinced that murder is at play. Nero Wolfe and Archie are on their way to an orchid exhibition in rural New York when they get a flat tire. Uninjured, they want to call for help from the nearest house. While crossing a nearby pasture, they suddenly come face to face with a red bull, from which they can barely escape to safety. The bull belongs to Thomas Pratt, the owner of a fast-food chain, who bought it for a fantastic $45,000 to turn it into steaks.