Homicide police detective, single mother to a teenage daughter, and lover of partner Jim Kissick, Nan Vining wishes life was a little more serene — like it is at Georgia Berryhill’s Malibu Canyon compound. Or like it’s supposed to be, anyway. A healing ground for the well-heeled, three bizarre deaths bring Vining and Kissick through its exclusive gates. First there’s the double homicide of a celebrity private eye and his nude, drugged-out lover. Then there’s the inexplicable drowning of a Pasadena socialite. Georgia Berryhill—the charismatic self-help guru to the stars–is one improbable element linking both investigations. Another is Vining’s own mother, who was a friend to one of the victims and was being wooed by another. Now, A-listers and wannabe poseurs, lost souls and keepers of long hidden secrets all converge at the Berryhill Compound. Some search for love and happiness, while others come for murder.