A pair of sandals and a small boy's shirt discovered in the room of a deceased hoarder brings back memories of an unsolved case from Chicago P.I. Anni Koskinen's past – and draws her into the disturbing world of an outsider artist. Does his artwork, full of gruesome imagery about violence literally ripped from the headlines, suggest the artist stepped across the border of his imaginary world into real-life murder? Already busy with a client whose schizophrenic son is on the run, chased by his own demons, Anni finds herself revisiting a case that she couldn't close, seeking clues in the eerie, troubling, and strangely beautiful secret realm of an eccentric man who everyone assumed was harmless.