It begins in 1944 Prague, but the madness—and the murder—move on to contemporary Chicago where an old man has died. Then it goes to the North Shore suburbs where documentary filmmaker Ellie Fore-man gets a letter prompted by the success of her show Celebrate Chicago. The landlady of the dead Ben Sinclair has found Ellie's name among his effects. Why? Mrs. Fleischman is uneasy, and wants to know, moreover, if Ben could have been murdered. Ellie became a filmmaker to help people tell their stories. The books and wartime relics Ben left behind—will they be enough to tell his?