Chad Westing is a detective working out of a precinct is the Northeast corner of the US. While his life in complicated enough with being assigned to a small task force to solve what looks like an active serial killing of young women, he also comes across a letter in a small jewelry box he picked up at a garage sale that looked like a miniature version of a Hollywood pirate’s treasure chest. In the hidden letter in a secret false bottom, it notes that if this jewelry box is out of her possession, then she is dead, and her husband did it. A little research shows that the letter came from a wealthy woman outside of his jurisdiction, but no matter how hard he tries to hand the letter off to someone else, it comes landing right back into his lap. Follow Chad as he tries to solve both problems—his serial killer and this mysterious dead aristocrat.