San Francisco based Phyllis and Steven Webber have hit an extended rough spot in their fifteen year marriage, as Steven, who manages a chain of dry cleaning stores for his wealthy parents, feels that she is more devoted to her work as an SFPD vice detective than she is to him as a wife. She working extended hours on her latest case, that of mobster Billy Sullivan, who is legitimate on the surface but who has his hands in several different illegal activities, he feels is only the latest in a long line of such cases for which she has been required to work long hours. So when Phyl learns of Steven's infidelity, she throws him out of the house. She is surprised by Steven's resulting move: filing for divorce, with a separate filing for custody of their only offspring, thirteen year old Sean Webber, Steven's belief being that he is a more stable parent than her. Phyl's problem in this matter is that she knows that she cannot afford the expensive lawyers that Steven can with his parents' money, the custody case which he can tie up in courts until she is out of money. She believes her prayers have been answered when a lawyer, Arthur Bannister, who was referred by the expensive lawyer she tried to hire, Ira Grossman, offers to take her case pro bono. After Arthur gets her out of a bind, Phyl learns that his law firm would like information on a police case for one of their other lucrative clients, that information which she does divulge. She later learns that the information was tied back to Billy Sullivan, who now has her between a rock and a hard place, as if she doesn't continue to provide inside information on his case, he will report her activities, which would not only mean her job but losing custody of Sean. Phyl has to figure out how to get herself out of this mess, while dealing with the divorce and the custody issue. Her professional problems are compounded by her partner of four years, Jeffrey Wong, who knows Phyl is a good cop that is caught up in something bad, that something which he is determined to find out.