While performing in vaudeville in 1919 San Francisco, ambitious blues chanteuse Viola Vermillion’s piano player and lover Stu Wiley is murdered in the Pantages Theater balcony. With her own gun. To remain out of jail, Viola is forced to uncover Stu’s secret past and figure out which one of his lies got him killed.

Viola’s got secrets of her own, of course. Like the encrypted notebook in her possession, which really belongs to the East Coast munitions tycoon who caused her sister’s death. Then there’s her surprising attraction to her hot new piano player Jimmy Harrigan, who—unknown to Viola—is employed by the munitions tycoon.

As Viola unravels multiple secrets, lies, and suspicions, she still holds tight to her dream of reaching the vaudeville Big Time. But to succeed at anything, first she needs to stay alive . . .