Jimmy Antonelli is in a whole lot of trouble. In and out of prison since he was a teen, he can usually rely on his big brother, Tony, to bail him out. But this time he's gone too far. There's a body of a local hoodlum in the cellar of Tony's bar and Jimmy has disappeared... Luckily, help is at hand in the form of New York PI Bill Smith.

Lydia Chin is called in on what appears to be a simple case. Jeff Dunbar, art world insider, wants her to track down a rumour. The rumour of new paintings by Chau Chun, known as the Ghost Hero, is shaking up the art world. There's only one problem - Ghost Hero Chau has been dead for over twenty years, killed in the Tianamen Square uprising.