Stan Aubray (Willem Dafoe), is a seasoned, semi-retired detective with significant obsessive-compulsive disorder and struggling with alcoholism. Resigned to a teaching position for forensic psychology, he is called back to active duty following the elaborately staged murder of a man in a high-rise apartment building. The victim is suspended and surrounded by photography lights, the room sealed off except for a pinhole, creating a projected camera obscura effect on the apartment wall. This crime scene bears many similarities to the Uncle Eddie murders, a series of similarly "artistic" killings, for which Stan was promoted following the prime suspect's death in an attempted arrest. Stan relates some of his difficulties to Sandy, a recovering alcoholic and former prostitute who is a friend of Stan and Crystal, the final victim of Uncle Eddie, and Stan's apparent former lover. Sandy invites Stan on a hiking trip with a group of friends, which Stan declines.