The story centers on around the mysterious death of repeat drunk driving offender Thacker and the discovery of his body in an alley behind the Marshalltown, Iowa, police department after his latest DUI arrest.

After his ex-wife bars him from seeing their daughter, a parolee finds kinship with a troubled woman who helps him re-evaluate his life.

A reclusive novelist struggles to find romance and meaning in his life despite disastrous and comedic circumstances.