Kinsey's cantankerous neighbor Gus Vronsky is injured in a fall and his niece, Melanie Oberlin, hires Solana Rojas, a private nurse, to help him while he recuperates.

Concerned, Kinsey files a report with the Department of Elder Services, who find nothing wrong and urge her to drop the matter.

An attorney hires Kinsey to investigate the case of Lisa Ray, a college student whose car struck another vehicle while leaving campus.

The female passenger in the other car, Gladys Frederickson, suffered extensive injuries and she and her husband Millard are suing Lisa and her insurance company.

She meets an old woman named Letty Bowers, who saw Gladys Frederickson fall off a ladder while trying to clean the gutters at her home.