Jonas Upton is the son of a wealthy New York family. Devastated by the death of his wife Valerie to cancer after only five years of marriage, he moves to the small town of Clearwater, Wisconsin where he poses as Jonas Cabot. His apartment building, Charing Cross, is a renovated old tire company plant. He immediately is plagued by a voice during the night repeating 'S.A.M." and 'S.A.M. murdered me." He investigates the history of murders in the old building and finds only one that has remained unsolved: Jim Henderson, brother of Clearwater police detective Robert Henderson, who continues after twenty years to look for a resolution to the unsolved mystery. Jonas suggests a possible connection to his voices and the Henderson murder. In doing so, he is forced to reveal his true identity, first to the police and eventually to his employer and new girlfriend and later wife, Libby Harding. When his father becomes terminally ill, the couple returns to New York. He is followed there by 'S.A.M.." After his father's death, he is forced to confront his mother in court for control of his father's company. Though he wins, his plans change dramatically after her murder. Jonas and Libby, now married, return to Clearwater as partners in the computer software business, CompuWild, where the mystery unfolds and is eventually resolved with a shocking and unexpected conclusion.