The year is 1897, and Vincente Chavez rules the Red Light District in Old Los Angeles. Someone plunges a knife into the heart of the young prostitute who lives with him — his mistress. Unfortunately, she becomes no more than a brief footnote in Los Angeles history. No one could predict how her death would affect lives in the brief span of one hundred years.

P.I. Sandi Webster is in for the surprise of her life when her overbearing, menopausal mother arrives in Los Angeles and wants her to solve a century-old murder. Her mother’s attitude causes confident, armed-and-dangerous Sandi to feel like a gibbering child. Oblivious to her effect on her daughter, Livvie tries to ensure Sandi’s cooperation in solving the crime by enticing her with the story of a long lost treasure. Can Sandi solve the murder and find the treasure before someone takes her life?