JANE DOE 9: EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

An invaluable painting—stolen. A dark chapter in history—revisited. When it all leads to a perfect murder, the wrong person could get framed.

It’s a major cultural event: the unveiling of a lost Vermeer painting at the Los Angeles Art Museum—en route to Amsterdam. Estimated value: one hundred and fifty million dollars. For its owner, Hildy Bloome, it’s an emotional and personal moment. Long ago, the rare landscape was stolen from her family by the Nazis. Finally returned to her, it’s now Hildy’s gift to the art world. As luck would have it, Cathy Davis (Lea Thompson, Back to the Future), the government’s sharpest undercover secret agent (aka Jane Doe), is also in attendance for the showing—because no sooner than the Vermeer is set for display, it suddenly disappears. All that’s left is an empty frame and a cryptic set of numbers boldly scribbled by the thief: 15-21-1890.

Renowned puzzle-solver Cathy rightly concludes that it’s a code for Hitler’s birthday. No coincidence that the museum’s guard is the California Field Director for the National Socialist Movement, a band of white supremacists who obviously want to honour their idol by stealing the painting back. Or is it that obvious? Complicating Cathy’s investigation is Agnes Dart, Imperial of Scotland, who holds the policy on the Vermeer. As far as Dart is concerned, not even Hildy Bloome is above suspicion. Now, to find the painting—and its thief, Cathy must first secure a motive in a search that takes her on a serpentine trail of hate, greed, murder, and revenge through one of the darkest chapters in history.

When it comes to brilliant puzzles, there’s no better way to solve them than enlisting Cathy Davis—soccer mom and super agent—in “one of the smartest new series on the airwaves” (Hollywood Reporter).