•Exposition/Introduction: It's a hot night in the segregated, poor town of Wells, Carolina. Sam Wood, a well-known and respected police officer is on his nightly patrol of the small town when he finds a dead body in the middle of the road. Bill Gillespie, the police chief, is introduced and it is revealed that he is a short-tempered and grumpy man.
•Initiating Incident: Sam goes to the train station; there is a possibility that the murderer could be trying to get out of the city. In the blacks only section, Sam finds a black man reading a violent comic book. His name is Virgil Tibbs. Sam arrests him and brings him to Gillespie for questioning. They think they've got their man, but that's until Virgil finally reveals, "I'm a police officer." (p.19)
•Rising Action: They're back to square one. No suspect, and no leads yet. Then they find something. Harvey Oberst. Harvey was carrying Mantoli's wallet and was arrested. Gillespie was sure they had the murderer but Virgil proved him wrong. After examining the body, Virgil deduced from the angle that Mantoli was struck that the killer must have been right-handed, but he observed Harvey was left-handed. This showed Virgil's superior skills and expertise in murder investigations.
They spent many days looking into possible suspects, such as Mr. Gottschalk, and Eric Kaufmann, who was Virgil's prime suspect for most of the time. Virgil was looking for evidence to prove Kaufmann was the murderer, but out of nowhere, Gillespie arrests Sam. Coincidentally, a girl, Delores Purdy, accuses Sam of raping her and getting her pregnant. Virgil's prime focus now is proving Sam's innocence.
•Climax: After thorough investigation, Virgil finally finds enough evidence to prove Sam's innocence. He brings this evidence to Gillespie. And perfect timing, Delores Purdy is also here to talk to Gillespie. So Virgil explains his case, and Delores admits that she accused the wrong guy. Virgil lays out all the evidence to Gillespie. Sam is finally released, and Virgil thinks he knows who the murderer is. All Virgil says is to let him come on Sam's nightly patrol, and he'll try to set it up so Sam is the one who makes the arrest. They go on the nightly patrol and take a break at the diner. Virgil stays in the car while Sam goes in the diner and talks to Ralph. Suddenly, Virgil comes in asking for a glass of milk. Ralph gets angry enough to lash out at Virgil and Virgil grabs him by the arm and pins him down. Sam is wondering what the hell Virgil is doing until Virgil says "You can arrest this man for the murder of Enrico Mantoli." (p.168)
•Falling Action: Ralph is brought in, and he signs a confession. Sam, Virgil, and Gillespie are all invited to dinner at the Endicott house with the Endicotts, Duena, and Kaufmann. At the Endicott house, the three are thanked for solving the murder. But Sam and Gillespie give the credit to Virgil. Virgil explains how he actually was suspecting Kaufmann for the whole time, just until Sam was arrested. But fortunately, Virgil realized his mistake and found the real murderer.
•Denouement/Resolution: Gillespie drove Virgil to the train station where he was once arrested. "It was past midnight and the station was deserted." (p.184) so Virgil sat on the bench that was marked "Whites". Gillespie says "If anybody says anything, tell 'em I told you to... Gillespie took two steps away, then he turned. 'Thanks, Virgil,' he said, 'It was a pleasure, Chief Gillespie.' Gillespie wanted to say something else, tried, but couldn't. The man before him was black and the moonlight accentuated the contrasting whites of his eyes." (p.184)
•Initiating Incident: Sam goes to the train station; there is a possibility that the murderer could be trying to get out of the city. In the blacks only section, Sam finds a black man reading a violent comic book. His name is Virgil Tibbs. Sam arrests him and brings him to Gillespie for questioning. They think they've got their man, but that's until Virgil finally reveals, "I'm a police officer." (p.19)
•Rising Action: They're back to square one. No suspect, and no leads yet. Then they find something. Harvey Oberst. Harvey was carrying Mantoli's wallet and was arrested. Gillespie was sure they had the murderer but Virgil proved him wrong. After examining the body, Virgil deduced from the angle that Mantoli was struck that the killer must have been right-handed, but he observed Harvey was left-handed. This showed Virgil's superior skills and expertise in murder investigations.
They spent many days looking into possible suspects, such as Mr. Gottschalk, and Eric Kaufmann, who was Virgil's prime suspect for most of the time. Virgil was looking for evidence to prove Kaufmann was the murderer, but out of nowhere, Gillespie arrests Sam. Coincidentally, a girl, Delores Purdy, accuses Sam of raping her and getting her pregnant. Virgil's prime focus now is proving Sam's innocence.
•Climax: After thorough investigation, Virgil finally finds enough evidence to prove Sam's innocence. He brings this evidence to Gillespie. And perfect timing, Delores Purdy is also here to talk to Gillespie. So Virgil explains his case, and Delores admits that she accused the wrong guy. Virgil lays out all the evidence to Gillespie. Sam is finally released, and Virgil thinks he knows who the murderer is. All Virgil says is to let him come on Sam's nightly patrol, and he'll try to set it up so Sam is the one who makes the arrest. They go on the nightly patrol and take a break at the diner. Virgil stays in the car while Sam goes in the diner and talks to Ralph. Suddenly, Virgil comes in asking for a glass of milk. Ralph gets angry enough to lash out at Virgil and Virgil grabs him by the arm and pins him down. Sam is wondering what the hell Virgil is doing until Virgil says "You can arrest this man for the murder of Enrico Mantoli." (p.168)
•Falling Action: Ralph is brought in, and he signs a confession. Sam, Virgil, and Gillespie are all invited to dinner at the Endicott house with the Endicotts, Duena, and Kaufmann. At the Endicott house, the three are thanked for solving the murder. But Sam and Gillespie give the credit to Virgil. Virgil explains how he actually was suspecting Kaufmann for the whole time, just until Sam was arrested. But fortunately, Virgil realized his mistake and found the real murderer.
•Denouement/Resolution: Gillespie drove Virgil to the train station where he was once arrested. "It was past midnight and the station was deserted." (p.184) so Virgil sat on the bench that was marked "Whites". Gillespie says "If anybody says anything, tell 'em I told you to... Gillespie took two steps away, then he turned. 'Thanks, Virgil,' he said, 'It was a pleasure, Chief Gillespie.' Gillespie wanted to say something else, tried, but couldn't. The man before him was black and the moonlight accentuated the contrasting whites of his eyes." (p.184)
•Theme: John Ball shows in his book In the Heat of the Night that a man's heritage does not define who he is.