After abandoning a promising academic career in forensic science, aimless Doug returns to Portland to live with his more responsible big sister Gail. He quickly lands a dead-end job in an ice factory, but his latent passion for detective work is stoked when his ex-girlfriend goes missing. Armed with a handful of arcane clues, Doug enlists Gail and co-worker Carlos in a ramshackle investigation that draws the slacker sleuths into Portland's not-quite-seedy underground.