Benny is recovering in a Toronto hospital from a serious blow to the head. He has a condition called alexia sine agraphia; in layman's terms, it means he can still write but cannot read. And his memory has been affected too: although he can quote lines from his high-school production of Twelfth Night, he finds himself brushing his teeth with his shaving cream.

When Benny learns that he was found unconscious beside a dead woman in a dumpster, he figures he must have been close to solving a case. With his girlfriend Anna working as field agent and two Toronto cops reluctantly sharing their discoveries, Benny tries to piece together the events that led to a murder―and his own injuries.