After months of successful work in Europe, musician Evan Horne returns to settle in the San Francisco Bay area, where he makes inroads into the jazz scene.
Life is good until he gets a phone call from a Los Angeles attorney. Evan’s old friend and former mentor, pianist Calvin Hughes, has died and left Evan all of his possessions.
Sorting through Hughes's belongings in Los Angeles, Horne finds a cryptic note, a mysterious photo, and handwritten sheet music of songs from the landmark Miles Davis recordings Birth of the Cool and Kind of Blue. Was Hughes the real composer? And what was his relationship with Evan's mother? A whirlwind journey ensues, taking Evan across the country to find answers.
