During rehearsal for „Baron’s All-American Beauty Pageant,” the contestants are shocked to discover the body of Miss Illinois – strangled, but by whom? As Castle and Beckett delve into the cut-throat competition of the pageant world, they learn that a number suspects had motive for murder, including jealous fellow contestants, the pageant’s larger-than-life millionaire sponsor, Victor Baron, and the show’s host — hedonistic TV personality, Bobby Stark.