When well-known philanthropist Francesca Glendon is murdered, her husband, Theodore Glendon, a sixty-year-old sunrise catcher artist, is accused of her murder. Theodore claims innocence and hires renowned female Private Investigator Vett Brayborn to find the real killer. Vett initially believes Theodore's innocence but soon discovers he was accused of murdering his girlfriend when he was in college, though her body was never found. Theodore's whereabouts on the night of the murder also can't be corroborated, and all other potential suspects have ironclad abilities. Vett gnaws the investigation down to bare bones until a seemingly trivial clue brings the truth to light. Vett's love of solving murder cases among the rich and famous leads her to South Carolina, a state she is not licensed to investigate in. And there is no private investigator reciprocity agreement between her home state, Virginia, and South Carolina. Circumventing the law by offering her service on a volunteer basis, Vett agrees to find the murderer of Theodore's wife. To make Vett's job more challenging, an unscrupulous newspaper journalist learns she is a renowned private detective from Virginia working in a non-reciprocity state. He blackmails her by threatening to notify the two states' licensing boards of her investigation. Vett grapples with how to handle this snake in the grass. And she knows if she can't discover evidence to find Theodore innocent, the overzealous police will arrest him and do everything in their power to have him convicted.