Nothing much ever happens in the sleepy Hawaiian town of Pahala.

But when a legendary singer disappears from a nearby black sand beach—where he's waging a one-man protest against a controversial resort development—private eye Noelani Lee soon finds herself on a twisted path of music, embezzlement, corruption, and murder.

Hired by a former lover to find the missing man, Noelani learns that tens of thousands of dollars also have vanished from a fund the singer established to defeat the resort —and that some people, including the singer's ex-wife and his former manager, will go to great lengths to make sure his plans fail.

Armed with a ukulele and song lyrics scribbled in a composition book, Noelani and her charismatic cousin form an alliance with the musician's guilt-addled son and an off the grid, on-the-run grifter. Together, they set in motion a scheme to rescue the singer, recover his stolen funds, stop the big resort, find a killer—and restore peace and harmony to little Pahala.