Nancy Drew (EmmaRoberts) and her widower father, Carson Drew (Tate Donovan), move from River Heights for a few months and rent a house in California, where Carson has a temporary job.
The house she and dad (Tate Donovan) are renting in Los Angeles once belonged to the old-time movie star Julia Draycock ("old-time" being relative: she was discovered dead in her swimming pool 25 years ago, shortly after re-emerging from an unexplained absence).