When a baby is kidnapped in the park adjacent to their West Seattle home, private investigator, Jenny McNair, and her fiance, Malcolm MacGregor, feel compelled to help find her. Their search takes them on a journey into the relationships of the baby's family—father, mother, sister, and mother's ex-husband. Because it is apparent that only an athlete—most likely a runner—could have outrun MacGregor and escaped the park, it leads them on an in-depth observation of several instructors and athletes at a local college. However, it is Jenny's own relationships, particularly with her own ex-husband and her daughter, that give her the insight to solve, not only who is behind the kidnapping, but who is behind the threats and violent acts directed at clients of her father's, Detective Charlie McNair. In Jenny's inimitable way, she quiets her mind and finds the stillness that allows her intuition to guide her. It is that process, along with her ex-husband's jealousy, her own feelings of envy, an airport parking lot, her daughter's familiar scent of vanilla and lilac, and even the English setter puppies that she and MacGregor rescue from Puget Sound, that help them solve the mystery behind the crimes.