After the death of his estranged father, middle-aged insurance investigator Lazarus McKenna leaves Chicago and moves into his father's house-the house he grew up in-and establishes his business in Omaha, NE. Eventually, his lonely life is invaded by a young woman and a small boy who may or may not be on the run. Finding them in a bus station, he takes them into his care-and home-on a cold winter night, hoping to discover what their trouble is so he can help them with it. At the same time he is hired by a woman to discover whether or not her murdered husband was cheating on her at the time of his death. McKenna's once boring, quiet life is shattered as both cases turn deadly.