If Melanie Travis was planning on a quiet family summer with her Standard Poodle Faith, son Davey, and new husband Sam, her plans are about to turn upside down. An unexpected competition, a trip to New York, and - oh yes, a murder - later, Melanie finds herself in a choke collar of deceit and corruption. When she receives the letter from the Champions Dog Food Company informing her that Faith has been selected as a finalist in the "All Dogs Are Champions" contest, Melanie is mystified - until she discovers it was Davey who entered Faith in the contest. Since he also signed the entry form that legally prohibits contestants from withdrawing, Melanie and Faith swallow their pride, tweak their top knots, and enter the ring. The winner will be the spokesdog for Chow Down, a new - and decidedly not poodlicious - dog food the company is launching, and receive a hundred-thousand-dollar modelling contract. Too bad Melanie and Faith are less than interested in winning this contest. At the reception where they meet the other finalists - Ginger, a Brittany owned by perky couple Bill and Allison Redding; MacDuff, a Scottish Terrier belonging to Dorothy Foyle, an older woman; Brando the Boxer, owned by Ben O'Donnell, an out-of-work actor; and Yoda, a Yorkshire Terrier who belongs to aloof couple Suzanne and Larry Kim - Melanie immediately picks up the scent that this pack is a bone's throw away from a major dog fight. Leaving the reception with Faith, who doesn't care for elevators, Melanie heads for the fire stairs. Above them a door opens and voices waft down followed by a blood-curdling scream as Larry Kim comes tumbling to his death. The police label the fall an accident, but something smells rotten to Melanie, starting with the fact that no one comes forth as the person Larry talked to before he fell. Odder still, Suzanne chooses to keep Yoda in the contest despite Larry's tragic demise. With the final decision drawing near and the competition getting downright ferocious, Melanie and Faith will have to watch their backs - because Melanie's digging may well unearth a barking-mad killer who'll do anything to win.