Walter Ambler killed his wife. Due to the ferocity of the attack and his mental history, he is sent to The Lanes, a medium security psychiatric hospital, perhaps indefinitely. However, Joy McHale, a member of the jury at his trial, is not convinced of his guilt. She visits him to aid his rehabilitation and bring this man, dominated by his bullying mother, out of himself. The story unfolds as, with the help of her boyfriend Bob Proctor and local journalist Paul Talbot, she investigates gaps in the case against him. Together they discover the circumstances weren't quite as obvious or cut and dried as the police thought. Also receiving help from the doctors and staff at the hospital, Joy and her friends are involved in some lively moments with other patients. Together they finally uncover the truth.