The youngest sprig of a stuffy Toronto family, Wes Beattie is one of life's losers, with a tendency to lie. His fibs have tended to inspire a certain fond exasperation, but now he's gone too far. After narrowly escaping jail for swiping a woman's handbag from a sleazy motel, the hapless Wes is on trial for murder: His uncle has been bludgeoned to death, and the weapon is covered in Wes's fingerprints. Wes's explanations about a frame-up, a villainous gang, and a mysterious sexpot only enrage his already mortified family. But Sidney “Gargoyle” Grant, a disreputable young lawyer, is irritated by the rush to condemnation, and resolves to untangle the truth.