A spate of unexplained fires spreads across Los Angeles, killing indiscriminately, tearing up the city, destroying people's faith. There seems to be no probable cause for the fires; arson and murder are not suspected but surely they can't have been started by something as fanciful as spontaneous combustion. Can they? Jim Rook, newly returned from a disastrous sojourn in Washington DC, is called upon to assist with the LAPD's investigation. The police hope that Rook, a special needs teacher with the rare ability to see demons and spirits, can look past the facts of each case and come up with some answers. Meanwhile, a mysterious portrait hung over the fireplace of Rook's new apartment sends him and his remedial English class off on an investigation into the past, where a myth about photography and the human soul seems unwilling to be forgotten. Could this really be the link he's looking for?