The murder of a private detective by a deaf killer leads John to an enigmatic woman who provides clues about his childhood. He travels to Idaho, where he supposedly grew up, and discovers things aren't quite as they seem.

A serial killer, with a fixation on John, is terrorizing Seattle. At each crime scene he leaves a pink envelope, marked with the symbol from John's scar. Inside each envelope there is a sympathy card, earning him the moniker The Mourner, containing a riddle that must be solved in order to find the next scene.