Housepainter Toby Rew has few ambitions. He’s marking time, giving a facelift to a house in a low-rent district of Syracuse, New York, to earn his next meal, next six-pack, and next month’s rent.

One sweltering day, Toby is slaving away on his ladder when he witnesses a fight in a house across the street. Curious, he investigates and discovers a dead man in a ransacked room. Like a good citizen, Toby goes off to call the cops. But when he returns to the scene of the crime with police detectives, the homeowners are present, there’s no body, and everything looks normal.

When the police leave in disgust, Toby finds himself embarking on a mission that gives his dull life new purpose. Playing amateur sleuth to find out who the dead man was, why he was killed, and what happened to the body, Toby soon finds himself entangled in a mystery involving mobsters and a rare manuscript.

When the situation turns to threats on himself, Toby’s got to avoid painting himself into a corner with his investigation, or risk becoming the next victim.