Abby Masters has been sent to a murder scene at a local Seattle community theater. She arrives backstage with her partner Tom Culhane. They look around the stage for the body and see only a few drops of blood. The police officer next to them points up and their case begins. Tom Culhane gets a call from a woman he met many months before on a case wanting to go out to dinner. Only a direct barage of dialogue from Abby forces Tom to succumb and accept. His life is about to change very radically. Abby is called by a precinct commander requesting her services to help a family member with her abusive husband.