It's 1947 in Singapore, and Su Lin is rolling out the red carpet for a new chapter in her life. Now happily settled in her marriage to Chief Inspector Le Froy, and having stepped away from her formidable grandmother Ah Ma's thriving business, she is the proud manager of the new Imperial Cinema.

But the grand opening isn't going as planned . . . The cinema has an unhappy history as a site for Japanese propaganda during the Occupation, and there are protesters who would rather see it demolished than refurbished. The cinema's financier, John Wong, is acting very strangely, local businesswoman Madam Leong is issuing outrageous demands, and Tony Khoo, the young, fun, and handsome son of the VIP guests, has gone missing.

When a body is found draped on a tire swing and it looks like the death is connected to the redevelopment, Su Lin switches her attention from movies to murder. And when her beloved Ah Ma's health begins to fail, she throws herself into the distracting business of crime solving, despite Le Froy's protestations.

But the more she uncovers, the greater her fear grows that her cinema project has been hiding some seriously criminal activity. Faced with the abrupt ending of her new career, and the heartbreaking ending of her grandmother's life, Su Lin can only do what she does best . . . ask questions, find answers, and get justice.

But can she do so, before it's all too late?