Waverly Shaw is a down-on-his-luck lawyer who stumbles upon a potentially lucrative business. In Waverly's new line of work, he comes to the aid of people in desperate need of cash. But there's a catch. His clients must be terminally ill and willing to sign over rights to their life insurance policies before they can collect a dime. Waverly then finds investors eager to advance them thousands of dollars--including a hefty broker's fee for himself--in exchange for a significant return on their investment once the clients take their last breath. But as the stakes get higher, he is unwittingly drawn into a perilous web of greed, blackmail, and murder.