A lady private eye on her first job working a routine divorce case teams up with a cynical, heavy-drinking police detective after inadvertently stumbling upon a much bigger caper involving a mysterious fugitive.

When alcoholic homicide investigator Valnikov is transferred to a burglary case that seems to involve a creepy dogcatcher, he's also given a new partner -- the pragmatic Sgt. Natalie Zimmerman, who's experiencing a midlife crisis and does not welcome Valnikov's company. But as these emotionally bruised cops are drawn deeper into the bizarre world of dog shows, animal fanatics and pet cemeteries, they're also drawn to each other.