In Waldorf Pines, ostentation and pretension are the order of the day. But even by local standards, Martha Heydrich is a stone cold pain. She's the stay-at-home wife of a very rich husband, into everybody's business and rumored to be having an affair with a local teenager, Michael Platte. One morning she seemingly vanishes, and that night her husband returns home to find the pool house ablaze.

Once the fire is extinguished, police discover two bodies - one is Michael Platte and the other is presumed to be Martha. But then the DNA results come back and the second body is an unknown man. With Martha nowhere to be found, the police turn to ex-FBI Gregor Demarkian to unravel this most puzzling of cases.