Jake Doyle and his ex-cop father, Malachy, run a Newfoundland detective agency. Their rugged seaside town never lacks for intriguing cases, and the Doyles don't always land on the right side of the law.

Dennis Smarten leads a simple life. He has a job in a plastic bag factory, an apartment in his sister's basement and a predisposition for psychosis.

An unlikely bond forms between a man and his peculiar but endearing downstairs neighbor Mildred. Stars Mary Walsh as the curious Mrs. Downstairs and Dave Sullivan as the timid upstairs neighbor.