New York, 1924. Vivian Kelly's days are filled with drudgery, from the tenement lodging she shares with her sister to the dress shop where she sews for hours every day. But at night, she escapes to The Nightingale, an underground dance hall where illegal liquor flows and the band plays the Charleston. But then she discovers a body behind the club, and too many people are assuming she knows more about the crime than she does. Making her first outing as a sleuth, Vivian finds herself up against the city's wealthy and careless, who consider lives disposable—including Vivian's own.