John Wesley O'Toole, a disbarred former attorney, is trying to make a new start in life as an art dealer in Savannah, Georgia, after his release from prison. He is struggling financially when he is approached by a prominent wealthy businessman and offered a significant sum to help recover a painting that's been stolen by the man's estranged granddaughter, Lucy. It's an offer O'Toole can't afford to refuse, and seemingly his one chance to avoid losing everything he's worked for. With the help of Jenna, O'Toole's friend and sometimes lover, he sets out to find the missing painting, and with it, the missing granddaughter. When Lucy's body is discovered at the site of a planned meeting between the two, O'Toole is arrested and charged with kidnapping and murder. Thrown into the county jail and unable to afford an attorney, he's assigned a public defender who urges him to plead guilty, based on what appears to be overwhelming evidence against him. When a new attorney gains his freedom on bail, both he and O'Toole become targets for someone who wants them dead. It soon becomes evident that what appeared to be real was false, and that O'Toole can trust no one but himself. Set in historic Savannah, the tale twists and turns to arrive at an unexpected and shocking ending.