Ned Johnston, a middle-aged attorney, has escaped the grind of a high-pressure job by returning to his hometown of Oceanic Park and establishing a small law practice. He spends his spare time hanging out at Java Joe's Coffee Cafe, surfing the 21st Street Beach break, and listening to music at an old jazz club called the Crow's Nest. The carefree days of summer in Oceanic Park are shattered, however, when a client and friend of Johnston's dies under suspicious circumstances. Unsatisfied with the police investigation and suspecting a coverup, Johnston starts his own investigation into the death with the assistance of Sophia Ambrosetti, an investigator and researcher. Their investigation has the effect of stirring up a hornet's nest and uncovers a web of corruption, deception, and murder.