Canadian RAF colonel Russell Williams's career reaches a pinnacle when he's appointed commander of his base shortly before a royal visit is announced. Yet he refuses to move into it, remaining in his quiet nearby home town. People rarely even close their doors there, even with the recent wave of intrusions, mostly to steal female underwear. As it escalates to violence and a kidnapping, Toronto sends crack detective Nick Gallagher, who teams up with the ambitious local case officer Jennifer Dobson. Although the base's cooperation proves crucial and several victims and witnesses are military, the colonel ultimately becomes the prime suspect, yet too well-respected to be formally charged without an elaborate ploy devised by Gallagher.