Loren Randolph returns home from a business trip to find the one hundred year old ancestral home located in a small town on the coast of California burned to the ground and a body inside identified as her husband, John. She blames herself for neglecting the grand old house, left to her by her grandmother, and for the loss of her grandmother's art collection and her many priceless antiques. Then an item that should have been in the house turns up at an auction, and Cam Montogmery, a San Francisco lawyer, appears in town looking for her husband under another name. When the local police chief shows that the body is not Loren's husband, she tries to locate him. She is shocked to hear that over a year before the fire, John quit the firm where he said he was employed. It is clear he has no intention of confiding in her and may be involved in illegal actions involving her grandmother's wealth. When Cam's apartment is blown up and an attempt on Loren's life is barely averted, the two begin to pool information to try to save themselves, find John and alleviate the chaos John has created.