Desperate for a way out of his community-college job in a rust-belt city, Henry Streator steals an idea from a dead student for a murder-mystery novel. But when the fictional plot hits too close to reality, Streator races to discover how an inner-city kid could have known about an impending murder. His misadventures digging through a befuddling web of sex and drug scandals ultimately endanger his own life and leave him questioning all the stories he holds close.