Seated in the balcony of a dilapidated, vacant theater, a would-be mystery writer witnesses the actions of a mysterious stranger. The police are baffled when that writer subsequently dies under suspicious circumstances. As Elmwood police investigate, newspaper reporters Connor Tate and Rachel Short turn their attention to the mysterious death. When two more bodies turn up, Connor and Rachel search for clues to uncover the truth amid the backdrop of a Victorian-era house, homelessness in the Mississippi River city and a family’s tragedies dating back a dozen years.