It is spring, and the body of a young Jewish woman is discovered buried, and almost preserved, in the forests of Maine. It is evident that she had given birth shortly before she died. However, there is no trace of the baby.

Private detective Charlie Parker is hired by lawyer Moxie Castine to monitor the police investigations and find the child, but Parker is not the only one searching. Someone else is following the tracks left by the woman, someone interested in more than just a missing child, someone willing to leave bodies in their wake.

And in a house near the forest, a toy phone starts ringing. Because a little boy is receiving a call from a dead woman...