Forensics expert, Dr. Dawn 'Holli' Holliday (Cheryl Ladd) is hired away from the Los Angeles Coroner's office to be the State of Hawaii's new Medical Examiner. With a jurisdiction which stretches from the Hawaiian Islands to American Samoa and all points in between, it is a dream assignment, pitting Holli's cutting edge knowledge of Forensic Medicine and Homicide against the explosive world of crime in the burgeoning world of the Pacific Rim. Using all of those latest forensic skills so dominating the headlines in this era of the 'big trial,' Holli often finds herself at odds with the more conventional methods of Honolulu P.D., especially top homicide detective, Lt. Mack Wolfe (Richard Burgi), with whom she immediately develops a volatile, love-hate relationship. Mack is hard-headed, impulsive, and dismissive of modern science, but there's no one you'd rather have covering your back in a dangerous situation.