In Tang dynasty China, criminal cases are solved by the upright and shrewd Judge Dee, who, as county magistrate in the Chinese imperial legal system, was both the investigating magistrate and judge.
When Judge Dee and his entourage arrive in Canton, supposedly to conduct a trade enquiry, he discovers corruption in the local government. With the help of a blind girl, he exposes the corrupt element.
Forced to shelter at an ancient monastery until a storms breaks, Dee discovers that it is not the serene and holy place it appears. Three have already died under mysterious circumstances, as did the Abbot. One year earlier. Under cover of darkness, Dee himself is attacked — and he vows not to leave until the mystery is solved.
Attending a party to celebrate the remarriage of Ko, a wealthy businessman whose first wife died, Dee presents Ko with a bizarre letter which he claims is from his dead wife. Ko throws himself from a balcony to his death — a mystery which tests Dee's investigative talents to the limit.
Despite sinister superstitions surrounding the Festival of the River Goddess, the last thing Dee expects to find there is murder. But Tong, a wrestler, dies in mysterious circumstances during a contest.
When the Imperial City is gripped by plague, the Scavengers — corpse-cleaners who rule by terror — the indiscretions of an eminent general's wife, and a prophesy of murder all add up to another exciting challenge for Dee.
The panels of an elaborately inlaid screen tell a story — and Teng Kan bought it as the story relates closely to his own life. But the screen has taken on prophetic power: overnight, its strip-cartoon frames have changed from martial bliss to murder. When the charge is followed by the death of his beloved Silver Lotus, Teng seeks the help of his old friend Dee to find a solution to the mystery that threatens him with madness.
