Fourteen-year-old chef and budding detective Neil Flambé helps the police in their investigation of the murders of some of the best chefs in town, a puzzle that seems to have something to do with a mysterious smell and Marco Polo.

The sudden disappearance of fifteen-year-old Neil Flambé's skills as a world-class chef leads to the closing of his restaurant, a cook-off to save his reputation, and the discovery of a dark curse that has plagued Flambé cooks for centuries.