At a summons from detective sergeant Frank Malloy, midwife Sarah Brandt arrives at the elegant home of famed magnetic healer Edmund Blackwell to find his wife in labor—and the good doctor dead from an apparent suicide. Only Malloy sees what no one else wants to: that Blackwell was murdered in his own home. After a successful delivery, the Blackwell baby falls mysteriously ill. Relying on her nurse's training and woman's intuition, Sarah discovers the source of the baby's sickness and uncovers a scandal that leads Malloy's investigation down a gilded path paved with greed, deception, and desire.