Fauna Hodel, a naïve girl growing up in mid-sixties Reno, Nevada, embarks on a quest to discover who she really is. In LA, Jay Singletary, a former Marine turned hack reporter covers a gruesome murder.

Fauna meets up with Corinna but suspects the woman of lies and hiding her real mother, Tamar. Jay meanwhile gets a harsh visit from the LAPD but this leaves him wondering how close he's getting to the truth.

As Jay edges closer to the truth, he begins to realise the MO for the case he's looking at has more than a passing resemblance to the Black Dahlia murder. Fauna receives a mysterious invitation to a “Happening” and, hoping for further information about her mother Tamar, heads to it.

With an address in hand, Fauna and Jay head to Hawaii to find Tamar. Fauna in the hope of finding some answers about who she is, Jay hoping to find answers about the Hodel story he wrote about that ruined his career.

When Fauna hears what happened to Jimmy Lee, she frantically searches for a way home. As Watts explodes around her into chaotic riots, Fauna’s way out harbors a nightmarish trap. Jay stews in a cell that overflows with rioters, his options diminishing as the hours pass, until he hatches a desperate plan.