...Model child

James Shannon, a middle-aged widower with no criminal background or history of mental illness, commits a heinous crime. Shannon confesses immediately and the crime lacks obvious provocation. For family and friends seeking to come to terms with Shannon's actions, the primary question remains: Why? Once incarcerated, Shannon becomes mute and refuses to talk to his family and his lawyer. After a transfer to a facility for mentally ill offenders, Shannon befriends Hal Gottlieb, a psychiatrist who slowly develops a relationship with him. As Gottlieb pieces together Shannon's background and the facts surrounding the case, it becomes apparent that things are not as they appear.