When 25-year-old classical violinist and media darling Ava Fletcher turns up dead before a performance, McBride, one of her biggest fans, becomes conductor to the puzzling case. Ava's father, a powerful senator, wants the case closed ASAP and is intent on pinning the murder on his daughter's fiancée, with whom who he has never seen eye-to-eye. McBride, however, has a cast of suspects that seems to be pulled directly from an operatic plot: Feleicia, the jealous rival; Carrie, the crafty stage manager; Hudson, the wealthy – and married – patron with intimate ties to the victim. With each clue revealing yet another dark secret and potential motive, McBride and his colleagues have their hands full uncovering who pulled the final curtain down on Ava.