At her law office in South Lake Tahoe, Nina Reilly sees a client who wants to locate the remains of his son, missing nine years and presumed dead. Although she suspects that her former investigator and lover, Paul van Wagoner, may have had something to do with the son's disappearance, Nina accepts Peter Brinkman's case. Soon, caught between two body snatchers and desperate to protect Paul, Nina is forced to step outside the legal system.

One sultry California night, architect Ray Jackson's wife disappears, with no clue to reveal whether she is dead or alive. Suspected by his wife's friend and by the police, Ray uses a collection of keys -- to the houses he and his mother lived in -- to try to unlock the secrets of his past.