When a fire forces TV newswoman Robin Hudson to vacate her apartment, she and her cat Louise Bryant move into the legendary Chelsea Hotel, the bohemian hostelry where artists both famous and infamous have long lived in semi-peaceful coexistence with countless hangers-on, wannabes, and rubberneckers looking for the 'real' New York. A smoky-eyed man she's just met dies in an apparent suicide, but Robin's not so sure. Could it be murder? Maybe even the last word in performance art? Is it related in some way to the star-crossed and rather irritable young lovers who have appealed to Robin for help?

To sort it out, Robin must brave the whole downtown thing and more: guerrilla artists, jealous women, brooding poets, feuding magicians, art forgers, and befuddled tourists. Oh, and plus ... one final, terrible complication: Robin seems to have fallen accidentally in love. Will Robin get the bad guy? The good guy? Both?