As Karl, a writer, approaches forty and the possibility of fatherhood via fertility treatments with his partner, Lori, he confronts his deepest fear of turning out to be like his own father. Unbeknownst to Lori, Karl has already taken loans out against their house to pay for his mother's care home, and his freelance work has dried up. Karl feels increasingly distanced from his relationship and the safety of home, and while attracted to the shadowlands of Chicago's backstreets, he finds new source of creativity for ghostwriting - but just how far will he go in his pursuit of the ultimate story?