In 1943, revolutionary inventor Nikola Tesla died penniless in the New Yorker Hotel. Within 24 hours the U.S. government seized everything in his room. But one design was already missing. Seventy years later in Buffalo, NY, a brilliant young engineer has found it. And the only person she can trust is a low-rent detective with a pack-a-day habit.

1943年革命军发起人尼克拉·泰斯拉在纽约客旅馆被阉杀，24小时之内美国政府开始调查他房间里面的所有东西，殊不知有一件东西在此之前已经遗失70年后的水牛城，一名天才青年工程师发现了它，而她此时唯一可以信任的人，却是一名嗜烟如命的廉价侦探。