Magnum is hired by an old friend's Japanese wife when her now wealthy husband is kidnapped and held for $500,000 ransom. She wants Thomas to deliver the ransom without her strict father, who has never approved of the marriage, finding out. But the further he gets involved, Thomas more and more comes to suspect that not all about the kidnapping is as it seems...

At the urging of the students in the private investigation class that Thomas is teaching at a local college, Thomas takes on the investigation into the disappearance of a fellow student's fiancé as the class's field work. The teacher and his pupils soon discover that while the student's fears that her fiancé is having an affair are unfounded, this anything-but-textbook case involves a man sought after by both sides of the law for trying to prevent a crime.

Magnum's P.I. license has expired. He is tied up in red tape trying to renew it when his aunt -- best-selling, Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Phoebe Sullivan -- pays him an unexpected visit. She just finished authoring a new play and is convinced someone is trying to kill her for it. Is someone really after Aunt Phoebe, or is her mind playing tricks on her?