Magpie plot
After serving 17 years in prison for a murder conviction, Asa Katz is granted parole on the condition that he continues to work with the police as their informant. Asa returns to his old neighborhood and to his older brother, David, a successful real estate agent who made his money from dubious business transactions. Conflicting interests put Asa in precarious situations, and he finds himself torn between his life of crime and his work with the police, all the while taking skillful advantage of both worlds.