While riding on the North Star train, Conan becomes witness to a strange, fatal shooting almost identical in execution and circumstances to an unpublished novel written by his father.
After being introduced to Detectives Sato and Takagi of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, Conan tags along with them when they investigate the scene of a strange break-in and murder.
Sato and Takagi chase down a murder suspect, but just after Sato has handcuffed herself to him, she begins to suspect that he is really innocent of the murder he's suspected of committing.
While asleep on a flight, Ran remembers the first murder Shinichi ever investigated. The victim, an obnoxious photographer, was found dead in a bathroom on a flight to the U.S.