A veritable chameleon, investigative reporter Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher (Chevy Chase) might drive his editor (Richard Libertini) up the wall, but he always produces great pieces for the newspaper. When his next story is about the drug trade taking place on the beach, Fletch goes undercover as a homeless man. Unaware of Fletch's true identity, businessman Alan Stanwyk (Tim Matheson) offers Fletch $50,000 to kill him. Intrigued, Fletch decides to unearth the full story behind the offer.