After abandoning a promising academic career in forensic science, self-styled detective Dough returns to Portland, Oregon to live with his more responsible sister Gail. He lands a dead-end job working in an ice factory, but soon finds an opportunity to use his passion and skill in detective work when his ex-girlfriend Rachel goes missing. Enlisting a team of ramshackle slacker-sleuths, Doug leads the way down a complex trail of clues that brings him close to discovering the truth about Rachel.