The discovery of a homeless family in her office basement leads V.I. to a charity for the homeless, Home Free. She’s puzzled by their cold response, especially when they give the runaround to a group of tradeswomen she knows.

Hard up for money, V.I. resists investigating Home Free until one of its board members is murdered in her own office. V.I. soon discovers a trail of tormented runaways, abused spouses, and financial fraud across Chicago’s banks to the halls of Congress.

Emotionally and physically taxed to the limit, V.I. must choose between her happiness and her sense of justice, and learns that the hardest questions she must answer are the ones she asks herself.