Vancouver City Coroner Dominic Da Vinci is an ex-police officer who brings his police mentality into his current job. Da Vinci is opinionated which has caused him to make many friends but also many enemies along the way of his professional career path. Although he has the admiration of most that work with him, especially a very loyal secretary, Helen, he also often butts heads with even his most ardent of supporters in the Coroner's Office and the Homicide Department of the Vancouver Police Force. These include his bosses, the homicide detectives and the pathologists, one of whom is his ex-wife Patricia. Da Vinci, the staff at the Coroner's Office and the Homicide Department work together to try and undercover some of the mysteries surrounding the deaths that take place in Vancouver. Da Vinci tries to balance his professional life with his personal life, which includes taking care of his teen-aged daughter with whom he has joint custody with Patricia. More often than not, he is unsuccessful in making this balance, the personal life marred by womanizing ways and a drinking problem.

The character of Dominic Da Vinci was based on the real-life B.C. Chief Coroner Doctor Larry Campbell, who after his tenure of coroner acted as a technical advisor on the show. In 2002 Larry Campbell was elected mayor of Vancouver.

Dominic Da Vinci:
I'll tell ya that, for free.