Shawn Spencer (James Roday) has never kept a job for more than 6 months. He helps the Santa Barbara Police Department prove a man guilty, using his keen powers of observation and his near perfect photographic memory he obtained as a kid. Detective Carlton Lassiter (Timothy Omundson) takes Shawn into questioning, and Shawn claims to have obtained the information psychically. The police let him go with no proof to disprove the claim. On his way out, Shawn is asked for help by Chief Karen Vick on a high-profile kidnapping case. The investigation into the kidnapping of Camden McCallum, sole male heir to the McCallum fortune, is stalled. She believes Shawn's psychic powers can help solve the case. Shawn takes advantage of this, realizing a new career has just fallen into his lap.