In 1904, the future bestselling writer Edna Ferber is still just a teenager trying to find her place in the world. Most people in Appleton, Wisconsin, don't approve of Edna becoming a newspaper reporter including her family, but Edna is determined to succeed. In a stroke of good luck, Edna gets the opportunity of a lifetime to interview the famous escape artist Harry Houdini when he comes to town. After Frana Lempke, a beautiful young German high school girl, disappears from the high school and is later found dead, Edna asks Harry to help her solve the mystery.