Plot

Micki and Ryan investigate a series of murders at a concert hall, only to discover that a violinist who was presumed dead may in fact be alive.

Ryan is drawn to a second violinist, Leslie Reins, unaware that she harbors a dark secret involving a cursed violin and her former lover, who everyone believes is dead after a fiery car accident. Micki and Jack try to find out the truth, while Ryan and the disfigured lover fight over Leslie's affections.—Gislef

At a concert hall, Micki takes a bored Ryan to a symphony concert at the Adelaide Theater. A janitor is backstage cleaning up, and a masked and tuxedoed figure moves through the hallway nearby. Meanwhile, Ryan notices one second violinist, Leslie Reins, and he asks Micki who she is. Micki doesn't know who Leslie is. Ryan tells Micki that the symphony isn't so bad after all, and Leslie notices Ryan looking at her.

The masked figure watches Leslie from the rafters, then takes out a violin and plays it discordantly. The janitor hears him and goes to investigate. The figure sees him coming and extends a stiletto blade from the tip of his bow. The janitor opens the door to the room where the figure is, and the figure skewers him through the heart with the bow. The figure's disfigured hands heal, and he plays along with the symphony in perfect tune.

The symphony finishes its performance and the audience applauds. Ryan makes his way to the reception and congratulates Leslie on her performance. She excuses herself to go into her dressing room, then leaves the theater and sees the EMTs taking the janitor's body away.

Later at the shop, Micki tells Jack that someone was killed. Ryan is going through concert albums, and asks Jack which albums he would listen to if he wanted to get an education in classical violin. Micki tells Jack that Ryan is interested in Leslie, and Ryan insists that Leslie is an artist.

Leslie is in her dressing room rehearsing, and she hears the figure playing with her. She goes to the auditorium to investigate, and follows the violin music. Leslie goes to the stage, and the figure watches her from the shadows. The first violinist, Phil, comes up and startles Leslie.

Later, Ryan goes to a record shop and sees Leslie. He hails Leslie and says that her performance inspired him to learn more about classical music. Ryan asks her out for coffee, and Leslie turns down his offer. Back at the shop, Jack plays a record of Janos Korda for Ryan and tells him that Janos is one of the greatest performers of their generation. Janos died five years ago in an auto accident, and says that a new recording is released every year on the anniversary of his death. Jack figures that someone is releasing Janos' music from old tapes.

The symphony is rehearsing at the theater. Phil critiques Leslie's performance, and the figure watches from the shadows and hears. When the orchestra takes five, Phil goes up on the roof for a smoke. The figure plays discordantly, drawing Phil's attention. The violinist goes over to investigate, and the figure kills him with its bow. As Phil falls to the roof, the figure laughs in triumph.

Later, Ryan goes to Leslie's dressing room and finds her taking pills. He says that he was out for a walk and saw the cops. Leslie tells him that Phil was murdered and breaks into tears. Ryan offers to take her home and Leslie accepts. The figure's violin music echoes through the air vent as he plays in the theater basement in his hidden apartment. He remembers the audience applauding him years ago for his solo performance, and imagines himself burning as he bows to them.

Leslie wakes up from her nightmare of Janos burning

Later at the shop, Micki notices that Ryan is gone and wonders if Ryan is interested too much in Leslie. She notes that Leslie apparently has a hypnotic effect on Ryan, and Jack checks the manifest and finds an entry for a violin that was sold to Frank Macklin. Micki goes to check on Macklin while Jack looks into the curse.

Ryan takes Leslie to dinner, and she apologizes for not being good company. Leslie says that she's married to her work, and says that music consumes a lot of musicians' lives. Ryan suggests that some people are lonely and can't admit it, and Leslie agrees. She goes to her theater and hears Janos playing, and goes to the stage to see who is playing. When she asks who is there, the playing stops. Janos watches her from backstage, and Leslie runs off.

Ryan finds Leslie as she leaves the theater, and he says to give her her music. Janos watches as Leslie says that she keeps hearing Janos playing but it can't be him because he's dead. Leslie says that she doesn't want to be alone and Ryan hugs her, as Janos watches.

Leslie and Ryan end up in bed together, and the next morning they kiss. She says that it's late and she has to go over her score before rehearsal, and says that she wants to be the best and goes. In her dressing room, Leslie finds a pocket watch on her music stand. It's inscribed with love to her, and has been burned in a fire. The violin music starts playing, and Leslie follows the music to the basement. She finally finds Janos' secret apartment, with pictures of him as well as his albums nailed to the walls.

The music continues and Leslie finds the masked Janos performing. He stops and says that he played the piece six years ago, and Leslie is as beautiful as ever. Leslie recognizes Janos' voice and says that she thought he was dead. When Leslie mentions the car accident and the fire, she breaks into tears and wonders who she married. She offers to help, but Janos chuckles and says that she can't help him. He was an artist, and now he's a monster.

Janos says that he's watched Leslie play and she's become both masterful and beautiful. He explains that he didn't come to Leslie because he didn't want her to see him the way he now is, and Leslie puts her head on his shoulder. Janos hesitantly holds her and swears her to secrecy about his existence.

Jack calls Micki at the shop and tells her that he was at Rashid's place but didn't find anything about the curse. Micki has learned that Macklin bought the violin for Janos, who gave it as a gift to one of his students. Leslie was one of Janos' students, and Micki figures Ryan is getting serious about Leslie. Jack gets the name of the other students who studied with Leslie under Janos.

Jack talks to one of the students, Marty Curry. Curry remembers Leslie but says that he hasn't seen her in years. He says that he's not writing Janos' music for the releases, and insists that the released music is Janos' style. Curry tells Jack that Leslie and Janos were lovers, and when she made a mistake Janos would dump on the other students. He confirms that Leslie gave the violin to Janos as a gift on the night he died, at a reception after his opening at Carnegie Hall. Janos and Leslie had a big argument about Janos' drinking, and he drove off drunk. Curry says that Leslie is good but would have to sell her soul to sell like Janos.

When Jack returns to the shop, Micki points out that there's rash of musician killings that correspond to the release of new Korda music. All of the musicians were stabbed through the heart, and Micki and Jack figure Leslie is the killer.

Leslie is putting her violin away when there's a knock at her apartment door. It's Ryan, and Leslie calls to him that she wants to be alone. Ryan refuses to go and Leslie opens the door. She tells him that Ryan made her alive for the first time in ages, and Janos is alive. She doesn't understand how Janos can still be alive, and makes Ryan promise to wait at the apartment until she gets back.

A bum is in a nearby alleyway and hears the discordant violin music. Leslie hears the music as well and looks out a stairwell window and sees Janos playing. She goes out and finds Janos killing the bum with the bow blade, and Janos drags Leslie away.

Later in Janos' apartment, he and Leslie play music to a tape recorder. She finally stops and wonders how Janos could kill someone. Janos stops the recorder and says that without the deaths, there would be no music. Janos explains that he couldn't live without Leslie's gift, and his piece is almost finished and it could be his best work ever. He angrily asks Leslie if she agrees, then tells her to continue. Leslie does so, crying.

Later, a masked figure breaks into Leslie's apartment and searches the place. Ryan hears the intruder and goes to investigate, and discovers that it's Micki. Micki says that she's looking for the violin and tells Janos that Leslie bought it from Lewis for Janos. Ryan doesn't believe it, but Micki says that people are dying and the violin lets Leslie release Janos' music. She tells Ryan that Leslie and Janos were lovers, and Ryan looks at the discarded pocket watch Leslie left behind.

Ryan runs off to the theater and calls to Leslie. He yells for Janos and searches the place, and finds Janos' secret apartment. Leslie is there, and tells Ryan that Janos has left and that he's insane. Janos is there and plays his discordant music, and doesn't believe Leslie when she says Ryan is just a friend. Janos calls her a liar, plays his music, and extrudes the blade from the bow. Ryan goes over to him, and Leslie steps between them and says that Janos isn't even human.

Furious, Janos removes his mask to reveal his burned and scarred visage. Leslie screams in horror as Janos laughs insanely, then shoves Leslie to the floor. When Janos tries to stab Ryan, Leslie jumps in the way and Janos skewers her through the heart. She falls into Janos' arms, and Janos screams in grief and anguish. He carries Leslie's corpse through the hallways and Ryan follows him.

Janos gets to the stage and sets Leslie's body down. Ryan turns on the stage lights, and Janos goes up into the catwalks. After holding Leslie's body for a moment, Ryan goes after Janos. The two men fight and Janos forces Ryan down to look at Leslie's body on the stage. He then jumps to his death, landing atop Leslie's corpse.

Later at the shop, Ryan sits and looks at the tape recorder with Janos' last piece. Micki and Jack join their friend after putting the violin in the vault. Ryan tells Micki that he doesn't need her help and there's nothing she can say to take his grief away. When he says that he doesn't need anyone's help, Jack tells him that Leslie didn't know about Janos, the killings, or the curse. He says that Leslie wasn't a part of it, and Ryan tells them that Janos should have died in the accident.

Jack says that he's listened to the recording, and Leslie had a greater talent than Janos did. Ryan wants to burn the recording, and Jack says that Leslie is alive in the music and a lot of people died for it. Micki and Jack leave, and Ryan plays the music.