Injured by an unknown shooter who has killed his wife and abducted his baby daughter, surgeon Marc Seidman struggles with limited options when he receives a ransom note that he will never see his daughter again if he contacts the police. .

When the Swisher family of 2059 New York City is murdered, lieutenant Eve Dallas, her partner Peabody, and her husband Roarke investigate while protecting the family's lone survivor and witness, a terrified nine-year-old girl.

The spirit of fourteen-year-old Susie Salmon describes her murder, her surprise at her new home in heaven, and her witness to her family's grief, efforts to find the killer, and attempts to come to terms with what has happened.