The future looks great for David and Rebecca Collier. They are changing into more creative careers and have moved to a beach house north of San Francisco. But one day everything changes. Rebecca answers the door to a stranger, who calmly raises a silenced pistol and shoots her in the face. In the subsequent chase, David is wounded. He will never walk without a limp and he is nearly deaf when not wearing his rather temperamental hearing aid. Beyond that, he's plagued by questions. Why would anyone want to kill Rebecca? She was the sweetest person in the world - a photographer doing a photo/essay piece on "Northern California Mansions of the 30's".And someone wants him dead too - a second attempt on his life is made before he even gets out of the hospital. As he heals, David becomes determined to find the killer. It appears that Rebecca's murder may be tied to one of the old mansions she photographed, which may house a mysterious operation run by some very dangerous men.