Jack Brubaker, veteran sailor and private investigator, becomes embroiled in a gruesome Marin County murder case while searching for his missing sister. In his hunt for the murderer, the world weary Brubaker teams up with homicide detective Ellen Jacobs and is aided by a collection of local eccentrics in the San Francisco Bay town of Sausalito. Hired by the victim's wife, Jack himself becomes the focus of the police investigation as he delves into the murky side of Marin County, complete with trailer parks, meth houses, and Cult compounds. During Jack's investigation he is forced to revisit the sailing death of his father, while coming to terms with his failed relationship with his sister Lucy.