Something is wrong with the city of Toledo, Ohio-it brings out the worst in people and keeps them trapped. So, how does anyone survive?

Emerson Waverly and Detective Jennifer Milner are complete strangers but have much more in common than either of them know. They are both single and stuck in Toledo, living unfulfilling lives. Emerson has worked tooth and nail to get where she is and make the most of surviving on her own. But she never thought she would end up thirty and single, ready to do anything to get her boyfriend, Xavior, back. After suffering from her fourth miscarriage in four years, Xavior had left her to deal with the heartbreak of losing another child on her own. Four months later, however, Emerson discovers that Xavior has been living a secret life on the other side of town, and all she can think about is making him pay.

Meanwhile, Detective Milner is a single mom trying to break the cycle of neglect with her teenage daughter. Every day is a challenge but now she must navigate a new reality when her daughter's father shows up after ten years and demands to be a part of her life. On the force, Jennifer has her own secrets to deal with which threaten her reputation. The pressure is on as she juggles her family and career and it becomes even harder to keep her head in the game when one gruesome murder after another shakes the town.

But when the killer makes a crucial mistake, will Jennifer Milner be able to solve the case through an objective lens, or is she doomed to be a broken cog in a failing system?