When Bill Mackay, a 33 year old autistic man, is moved from an institution in Calgary where he has lived for many years to a new institution in Edmonton, Canada, his guardian and aunt, 75-year-old Marion Mackay, is fearful for his ability to adjust, but due to Marion's own declining health, she believes she must move closer to her daughter in Edmonton and cannot leave Bill behind in a city almost 200 miles away. Bill is particularly upset to leave behind his friend, Mavis Elves. Although Mavis is confined to a wheelchair and unable to talk or feed herself independently, they have developed a very close relationship. But move he must and no sooner does Bill arrive in his new residence, the Clive Center, than he is involved in an altercation with a nurse. When the nurse is found murdered the next morning and Bill is found asleep in his bed clutching the murder weapon, Marion is overwhelmed. She calls Claire Burke, a friend in Edmonton who also has a special needs daughter and knows Bill and Mavis. Claire wastes no time in stepping in when the local police seem ready to railroad Bill for the murder without searching for any other suspects. Claire and her friend, Tia, not only work to clear Bill of the murder rap, but also begin a major campaign to bring Mavis to Edmonton and to set the two friends up in their own home. Along the way, Claire's and Tia's efforts involve a side trip to Barbados as well a some unexpected run-ins with the real killer, resulting in some tense and scary moments. But in the end some surprising answers emerge and the cloud over Bill's future is finally lifted.
