AllMovie

At the prodding of Natalie (Traylor Howard), Monk goes into business for himself as a full-time private detective. His first job is deceptively minor, concerning a fender-bender in which prominent realtor Linda Fusco (Sharon Lawrence). But as the investigation progresses, Monk stumbles upon a missing-persons case, a murder, and more than the usual quota of physical boat. By episode's end, the aqua-phobic Monk somehow finds himself on the deck of a boat in the middle of the Bay...and dying a thousand deaths in the process. A subplot involving Linda Fusco and Captain Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) will yield unexpected "benefits" in the episodes to come.