When Zuretta’s sister, Ruby, travels to Chicago, and disappears, Zuretta leaves home to find her. She has a little bit of money from her Utah church, an abiding fandom of the legendary Pinkertons, and a deep hope and faith of finding Ruby soon. After a series of mishaps, she claws her way forward, taking a job in the very place her sister Ruby last worked—a hotel owned by notorious serial killer Dr. H. H. Holmes. But Zuretta’s efforts to find out what happened to her sister don’t go unnoticed, and before long, she finds herself up against one of the most infamous mass murderers in American history—and his custom-built death trap.