Family dysfunction and intrigue surround the sudden death of young Jada Green, a vibrant five-year-old girl anticipating her first day of school. Set in Seattle in the mid-eighties, the mystery begins when the young girl becomes sick during a family pizza night at a popular Italian restaurant and rapidly succumbs to a most bizarre malady. The doctors are baffled as to the girl's mysterious illness and demise, and her despondent parents and brother are left to grapple with their tragic loss while under a shroud of suspicion. A semi-retired Internist, Dr. Barton Ivey, is asked to make sense of the girl's unexplained illness by the Emergency Room physician, and he finds detective work brings some excitement and drama to his otherwise mundane retired life. When his investigation points to foul play, he brings his case to Seattle Police Detectives Warren Brand and Laura Drill. Together, they unravel the mystery which involves various witnesses and multiple suspects: suspicious parents, Jada's overprotected brother, a resentful aunt, oblivious restaurant customers and staff, a blind man and his guide dog, as well as the otherworldly mystic, Madame Zarkov.